


Singing This Lie HIATUS

by orphan_account



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Abuse, College AU, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, One-sided AusHun, One-sided PruCan, Yaoi BL, btt, frying pangle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-08
Updated: 2014-07-01
Packaged: 2018-01-18 15:32:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1433635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gilbert was that person who she could fight over the television remote and shout across hallways. But Gilbert was also someone she could lay down and talk about dumb things like stars. Gilbert was someone she could feel like she was on top of the world. With Gilbert it felt like she took a step out of her home for the first time. Crossdressing!Hungary. PruHun, minor AusHun</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Yes, this is a PruHun Story, but remember this is a frying pangle story. Eventual PruHun starting the next chapter.

**Singing the Lie**

**Prologue**

**Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53 – Chopin**

* * *

_August 23, 2013_

Elizabeth Hedervary let her short brown hair down as she collapsed on her couch. It was the only time she could feel like a girl, not some guy her father wanted her to be. Her father wasn't going to be back until late of the evening, maybe eleven, and her brother was doing some late shift at the hospital.

It was these small moments Elizabeth felt like she was loved for what she was. Where she felt like Elizabeth, not Andres. It felt great not having that binder on her chest, letting her breath. It felt great to let her hair down which was always up. It felt great to just be herself. She couldn't remember a time when she was treated as a girl – except when her mother was still alive.

Her mother. Elizabeth sighed as she turned on the television, absentmindedly flipping through the channels. Her mother was the one who filled her earliest memories. Her mother would let Elizabeth play the piano with her. It was small and brown. They would play Chopin together.

But those were just memories. Elizabeth needed to focus on things like enjoying television, which she could never watch because her father hogged it all the time. Passing through the channels, she heard a song. It captured her ears. The choppy chorus of the song her mother loved to play

_Polonaise in A-flat major_

There was a man on the television, playing a beautiful black grand piano. He was beautiful, Elizabeth decided, a bit like an angel. From his perfect combed chocolate hair reflected on the clear piano he was playing with to his pale, delicate fingers. His eyes closed, but you could see from his peaceful expression that he loved what he was doing so much.

Elizabeth watched him dance his fingers until the song ended. She could feel the emotion from what he was playing, and he wasn't even there.

Then the camera zoomed out from the pianist and onto a serious looking man with blond slick hair. "And that was Roderich Edelstein, from our music department." There were claps heard, many Elizabeth could tell.

"This is Hetalia University, a school known for its academics, athletics, and arts. We help people of all age create each generation better than the first to fulfill our society's needs." The man sounded awkward, but it also sounded like he was telling those words from the bottom of his heart. She was a bit amused at his inelegant expression compared to his elegant suit.

"I welcome you to join our prestigious university, where society spins its axis on. Hetalia University!"

Then another advertisement filled the screen.

 _Hetalia_   _University_ … Elizabeth mused,  _where have I heard that before?_

Elizabeth grabbed her laptop and searched Hetalia University. She saw the slogan and immediately, memories shot through her mind. The scholarship!

Elizabeth stood up and went to her room, looking through filing cabinets. "I know it's here somewhere…." She muttered as she looked though each folder. And there it was, a yellow envelope with big bold words of 'Hetalia University'.

She grabbed the folder and headed back towards her living room. She opened it and saw it. 'Full four year scholarship'.

_Full Four-Year Scholarship at Hetalia University!_

_Dear Andres Hedervary,_

_We present you this full four-year scholarship at Hetalia University for fulfilling our three main divisions: Academics, Athletics, and Arts. You own higher than a 4.00+ GPA which we look for in every student who takes a scholarship for their Academic Credits. You also achieved first in your cross-country, receiving a 5:53 on a 1500 meters. Your talent of singing is also enough to impress us, your vocal range is in-between Baritone-Soprano._

_We ask you to attend Hetalia University. We hope to see you there._

_From the Hetalia Staff,_

Elizabeth was sheepish as she read the paper. She received this on her graduation day of high school but completely forgot about it. She just collapsed on the bed and enjoyed herself as she was finally finished with her primary education.

"Andres…" Elizabeth whispered as she looked over the first paper again. That's right… She enrolled as Andres Hedervary for school ever since she could remember. "I have to pose as a guy for school again?"

Elizabeth didn't mind growing up as a boy. Not at all. It allowed her to play rough with everyone and not mistreat her just because she was a girl. She also gains her father's respect. Her father loved her when she was a guy. It was just that, Elizabeth was a girl. She was 100% female. She liked flowers, meadows, and cute things like bunnies. It was very uncomfortable living as a guy when she was, in fact, a girl.

Then she heard a click, must've been from the door. Elizabeth tried her hardest not to squeak as she scurried of to the bathroom along with the binder. She was going to go through hell if she didn't put the bind on.

"Andres!" Her father, John Hedervary, called out.

"I'm here Dad! Just had to use the bathroom!" Elizabeth called out in a deeper voice which was considered normal for boys as she put on her sweatshirt back on.

She heard footsteps as she opened the door to see her dad looked through the scholarship papers. He seemed to just finish reading the note when his attention focused on her.

His eyes pierced right at her hair. Damn… She forgot to tie it in the ponytail that her dad said was much more 'manly', because she absolutely denied cutting her hair.

"I just took a shower Dad, let me get the hair tie thing." Which wasn't a lie. She did indeed just took a bath, but didn't want to tie her hair.

The tense moment disappeared between the two as her father inspected the rest of the papers. "So, you're going here, right son? I'll pull some strings."

Elizabeth startled at the question. She actually didn't think much about it. Her mind traveled back at the young pianist she saw. How much he loved playing the piano. She wanted to see that again. She wanted to hear that wonderful sound again.

"Yes." Elizabeth said, her thoughts far away


	2. How am I going to be an Optimist about this?

**Singing this Lie**

**Chapter 1: How Am I going to be an Optimist about This?**

**Bastille – Pompeii**

* * *

Elizabeth honestly didn't know what she was getting into. It was a college, not a high school. But she was now here, at London Heathrow Airport. It was wonderful. The United Kingdom was beautiful. It was so much different from America that she lived all her life.

The windows were glass, letting sunshine glare into her eyes. She was tired. Eight hours on a plane, everything was so new and she knew she wouldn't be sleeping soon. She twisted the Yankee cap on her head and headed towards a small Starbucks with her luggage.

"A Grande hot chocolate, please." Elizabeth asked, with her hair down, wearing girl clothes, feeling so different. She was in another country now, without her father. Just a few hours of freedom would be nice since she would have to go back to her facade of being Andres once she gets to the university.

She plopped down on a small table by the corner, lowering down her cap. She didn't have a lot of girl clothes, except for a shirt – and even that wasn't from the women's section. She didn't bother with her bind and just wore her jeans. But she didn't feel like a guy at the moment.

"Excuse me," A grave sounding voice asked her. She peered up, to see a man with red eyes. She didn't know a lot of people with those eyes, and they didn't exactly look scary to her. "Everywhere else is taken, may I sit here?"

Elizabeth nodded, taking in the rest of the man's appearance. He looked like he was her age, white hair, and pale skin. Maybe Albino…. Unless it was hair dye or contacts. "First time coming to London?" The man asked, starting conversation.

"Yeah," She said, and took a sip out of her drink. It was completely unnatural for her to be a girl. "Your eyes are nice." Elizabeth said afterwards.

"Really? Wow, that must mean you're awesome. Only awesome people understand how cool these eyes are." His demeanor quickly changed. He was now comfortable sitting, one hand on the back of his head.

"Really now?" Elizabeth asked, taking another sip from her drink.

"Yeah!" The other exclaimed, throwing his hand up in the air. "A lot of people think its weird – like that damn pianist – but there are these really awesome group of people who accept my eyes!"

Pianist… That's right. She wanted to hear that music again.

"Yello?" The man opposite her answered his cell phone. "I'm at Starbucks… Yeah, sure. I'll be there."

"You got to go?" Elizabeth asked, ignoring that feeling of disappointment bottled up in her.

The man looked down at her as he stood up. "Yeah, sorry pretty little lady. I gotta go, maybe see you somewhere in the streets of London."

Elizabeth felt her face heat up, she never received a compliment as a girl – she was always 'handsome' or 'nice-looking'. "Sure, see you around. I have to go as well."

"Alright, see ya." And the man took his luggage and left the shop.

Elizabeth decided she had to leave as well, she needed to find a cab to Hetalia University anyway.

* * *

"Thanks," Elizabeth – wait no, Andres – told the cabbie driver. Her hair tied back again, wearing men's clothes once again. And it wasn't just that, she died her hair into a darker color after she left the airport just for safety measures. It was now dark brown than the light brown that she loved.

"Heading towards Hetalia University – Axis, young chap?" The taxi driver asked. Elizabeth nodded her head. "Well, you look like a sincere one, so you better visit the teacher at the moment. You'll know when you get there." Then the taxi sped away leaving Elizabeth more confused than ever.

But she found out once she got to the gates, a bunch of screaming girls were standing over there. They were all in chaos, with their short skirts and smooth hair. Elizabeth wrinkled her nose, she just wanted to study.

She peeked through the crowd and saw a teacher with a mask coming out of a small door. "Ah! Come back again, ya punks?"

The girls deliberately ignored him and ran towards a white van. They were creaming harder than ever, muttering weird chats over and over again. Whatever, Elizabeth muttered and was about to go through the gates when the teacher walked over to her. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

"Transferring." Elizabeth muttered, twisting the cap on her head and rolling her eyes. She knew how to act like a guy, but by god, she better not get caught. She was doing this for free college. Free college. And maybe she was doing this to hear that music again.

"Really?" The man spit. "Do you know how many people say that kind of story to get into the school?"

Elizabeth took our some papers from her back – her scholarship papers. "Oh." The man muttered looking at the legal documents. "Pass!" Spitting on her face, the man let her through as he turned to yell at the girls who were still screaming at the van.

Once she entered, there was big sign that said Hetalia University – Axis. Axis was the all-boy's school. Elizabeth didn't know what the all-girl's school was, but she was betting that the screaming girls went to that school.

The property was fantastic. It was huge, with huge buildings with rooftops filled with scenery. It felt like she was in a fairy tale. She spotted the huge track and field/soccer field from where she was at. She could see the volleyball court full of sand. A four year college scholarship here? It was like a dream – she didn't even care if she had to dress up as a guy.

She found herself wandering around until she found the Faculties building, which she entered.

"Hello? I'm here on the four-year scholarship program." She asked the secretary, who had a very large bust.

"Ah!" The lady exclaimed and started looking through her filing cabinet. After a few minutes, the lady found her file. "Andres Hedervary, am I correct?"

Elizabeth nodded, pulling out her forms as well. "Thank you, dear. I'm Katyusha Braginski. You've been scouted by excelling in academics, athletics, and the arts. We're very happy to have you here! And thank you for choosing Hetalia University!"

Elizabeth nodded, still clutching her luggage. "Where am I supposed to go?" Elizabeth asked, still waiting on the lady.

"Of course, here's your dorm," Katyusha placed a folder in her hand. "Along with your classes, etc. There will be an Opening Ceremony this evening, so get some rest. One of the times of the school year that both of the Axis and Allies meet up together."

"Axis and Allies?" Elizabeth asked as she was about to leave.

Katyusha smiled as she sat down again. "Axis is the all-boy's Academy while Allies is the all-girl's Academy of Hetalia University."

What a weird system, Elizabeth wondered as she looked for the dorms. This was college, but then again, this was a weird college.

She opened her folder as she sat down on her bench, looking through her documents.

* * *

~ Welcome to Hetalia University ~

Welcome to the student-centered university which raises leaders of all kinds!

In Hetalia University, we expertise in academics, athletics, and the arts. Our school is divided into All-Boy's and All-Girl's academies, known as Axis and Allies Academy.

We also have three separate dorms for each school – focused on Academics, Athletics, and Arts. Each dorm is a home for the students.

Dorm 1: Academics

Axis: Sapein Dorm

Allies: Sophis Dorm

Dorm 2: Athletics

Axis: Valens Dorm

Allies: Isheros Dorm

Dorm 3: Arts

Axis: Animus Dorm

Allies: Psuche Dorm

We base your dorm on the area you excel in, depending on your abilities.

We also encourage inter-dorm competitions, which are very popular. Every two months, we hold school competitions for both Axis and Allies Academies for inter-dorm competitions.

Please enjoy your stay at Hetalia University!

Elizabeth frowned as she looked at her paper, hoping to find which dorm and classes she had.

Student: Andres Hedervary

Age: 21

Birthday: 8 June 1992

Valens Dorm 2: Room 208 [For excelling in cross-country during High School, but could transfer to Dorm 1 and 3 for excelling in academics and arts.]

Classes:

[1.5 hour/7: 00 AM] Political Science Room 159 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays

[1.5 hour/7:00 AM] Global Studies Room 156 on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays

[3 hour/8:00 AM] Calculus I Room 202 Saturdays

[2 hour/9:00 AM] Economics Room 168 Sundays-Fridays

[2 hour/11:30 PM] Journalism Room 122 Sundays-Fridays

[1 hour/2:00] Photography Room 305 Mondays and Fridays

[2 hour/3:00 PM] Physical Education Mondays-Saturdays

[1 hour/5:30 PM] Biology Room 226 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays

[1 hour/5:30 PM] Communications 198 on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays

[1 hour/7:00 PM] French Room 148 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays

[1 hour/7:00 PM] Italian Room 142 on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays

[2 hour/8:30 PM] History Room 195 Fridays and Saturdays

* * *

Elizabeth wondered why she enrolled for so many classes, but it didn't matter now, did it? She needed to become an Ambassador, she was lucky to have a scholarship at such a wealthy school.

She stood up and focused her thoughts on Dorm 2: Room 208. Then she realized she had no idea where that was. She should've gotten a map at the Faculties building.

"Excuse me, are you lost sir?" Someone tapped her shoulder with a voice so melodic. Elizabeth turned and saw the young man from the advertisement that seemed so long ago. The reason she wanted to go to this university.

"Roderich Edelstein?" Elizabeth breathed, he was there. He was beautiful. But why wasn't her heart beating like it should be?

"Uhm, yes that it my name. What is yours?" He asked, tilting his head in confusion. Elizabeth felt like asking him to play for her, but she couldn't.

"Andres Hedervary," Elizabeth answered. In movies, this was the moment her heart should be skipping - but it didn't. She wanted to please him, hear him play, but she didn't feel her pulse accelerate.

"What dorm are you in?" He inquired, pushing his glasses up. He didn't ask how she knew her name, actually seemed pleased.

"Dorm Valens, Room 208."

Roderich wrinkled his nose at the number 208. "I pity you for having such a terrible roommate, but I can assure that you are better than him."

"Who is it?" Elizabeth asked, grabbing her luggage as they started to walk.

"I think it's better if you don't know. Anyway, I'm in Dorm Animus." Roderich seemed much better, like having a sense of himself when he said that.

"Of course, I saw you playing the piano the other day on the television. It was beautiful."

Roderich smiled, "Thank you."

They walked into a comfortable silence, breathing in clean air. It was like they've known each other their whole life. They didn't talk much, but it felt comforting to one another.

Once they reached Room 208, Roderich let her open the door. "Enjoy your stay. Maybe I'll see you around the streets of London." Then he was gone, leaving Elizabeth to her dorm. His last line seemed vaguely familiar, like someone had said that to her before.

It was spacious. Very. There was two separate desks, one untouched and another that was cluttered with photographs of several people. There was two bunks, a staircase going up. It seemed like the second bunk was hers. She didn't mind, she would prefer it anyway.

The first bunk had even more photos than the desk, and the bed was already unmade. Elizabeth frowned. She didn't appreciate clutter.

Elizabeth looked at the clock, it was around ten AM, and maybe she could take a nap or something. She took off her sweatshirt, messed up the sheets of her bed, and collapsed on her bed.

* * *

Gilbert Beilschmidt considered himself to be perfect. He knew that no one in this world is perfect, he knew that very much. But he believed that with effort, he could be perfect.

He was going to make his college years perfect. He convinced his dad to let his to best friends in to Hetalia University, but not like they needed any help – he knew by their standards they were going to get in. Plus, some of his fellow high school graduates made it. He was expecting to have the best time of his life.

He was in a car with the people that mattered most to him – maybe not his father, but he still loved him. It was just him being the president of Hetalia University was a bit weird. Francis Bonnefoy and Antonio Carriedo were his best friends since diapers, and they were inseparable.

They zoomed through the crowd dropping of Francis at Dorm 1: Sapien. "Nerd." Gilbert muttered, as Francis blew a kiss at him as good-bye.

Then his dad dropped both Antonio and Gilbert at Dorm 2: Valens and left without a word.

"Room 208, right Gil?" Antonio asked as they started to look for their rooms.

"Yeah, I visited my dorm around August, remember. Then I had to go to Germany to pick up Luddy." Gilbert said, fishing around for his key. "What room are you in?"

"213," Antonio said looking down at his papers. "Well, see you later amigo!"

"Yeah, yeah." Gilbert muttered, opening the door to his dorm. It was the same as he left it last summer, but something was off… It felt different. Like there was someone else in the room-

"Who's there?" A guy appeared right in front of him, holding a pencil (Really? Out of all the weapons in the room, why a pencil?) in his defense. His black hair was in a loose ponytail and his green eyes had some bags under them, proof that he was sleeping just seconds ago.

"Who are you?" Gilbert asked, holding his hands up in surrender.

The other seemed to relax, as his eyes widened. "Your roommate. Andres. Andres Hedervary." He lowered down his pencil and took his hand out for Gilbert to shake it.

"Gilbert Beilschmidt."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is a PruHun Story, if you must absolutely make sure of it. Song of the chapter is on the top, I forgot to for the Prologue, but there will be songs for each and every story.
> 
> *In Elizabeth's POV she refers herself as a 'she, her' because in her mind, she is a girl – which she is. In other people's POV, Elizabeth is Andres whom is referred to as 'he, his'.
> 
> Please review and critique!
> 
> Elizabeth 'Andres' Hedervary: Hungary
> 
> Gilbert Beilschdimdt: Prussia
> 
> Roderich Edelstein: Austria
> 
> Francis Bonnefoy: France
> 
> Antonio Fernandez Carriedo: Spain


	3. They will Come for you

**Singing this Lie**

**Chapter 2: They Will Come for You**

**Bastille – Daniel in the Den**

* * *

"Gilbert Beilschmidt." Was his name. The man from the coffee shop. The man with pretty eyes. What a coincidence that he went here was well, Elizabeth thought. But his demeanor was much, much more different. At the shop, he seemed confident, but calm – here he felt like a crazy animal locked in a cage dying to jump out.

Elizabeth lowered down her weapon (a pencil, really Elizabeth?) completely and walked towards her desk to lean on. "You're my roommate?" She asked.

"Hmn…" Gilbert mused at that. "More like you're  _my_  roomie. I was here since August."

"I could tell. The bed wasn't made." Elizabeth heard some fake gagging noises as soon as the words left her mouth.

"Yeah, I was sort of in a hurry to get my brother from Germany. Usually I do clean up."

Elizabeth was hungry, "Whatever. I think it's time for lunch anyway."

"Wait a sec, let me put my bags down."

Elizabeth nodded, remembering the eyes that she loved on the man in front of her. "Cool eyes – I mean, their red. It's different, makes you unique."

"Eh, cool! Let's go!" Gilbert grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the dorm, locking it.

"What? Where? Seriously, my hair's a mess!"

"To lunch, where else? And who cares, you look fine without it anyway!" The other shouted back, running down the hallways. Gilbert was running like a maniac up and down the hallways until he reached the cafeteria.

Cafeteria wasn't the right way to describe it. More like Five-Star restaurant. Food… Elizabeth's mouth watered. Now that was food! She could smell the Gulyás from here. Oh, the Paprika!

"Let's get some food and I'll introduce ya to the gang!" Gilbert said, pushing her towards the buffet. It was so weird. She couldn't believe she met up with this same person this morning at Starbucks.

"Gang?" Elizabeth asked, placing a lot of Paprika on her plate.

"Yeah," Gilbert grabbed a glass of water. "Their probably my bestest group of friends ever – well except for that pianist, but I guess I would consider him a good friend as well."

"I see," Elizabeth smiled, seeing how much he cared for them just by the tone of his voice. It was soft, gentle, and overall sweet. His eyes brightened so much when he talked about them, he seemed so much relaxed and comfortable.

Gilbert led them to a big table, in the middle of the whole place with some people. They seem to be all enjoying themselves.

"Ahem!" Gilbert faked loudly so that the whole table would hear him. "Andres Hedervary, gang. Gang, Andres Hedervary."

The group looked at her, as if she was an outsider, and then to Gilbert, and then to a man with a stubble. His hair tied in a loose pony tail, in a very similar matter as she had done her hair, and his blue eyes sparkled as if he found something so amusing. The man seemed nice – like he experienced so much already. They all seemed to have, but this man seemed so much older.

"Bienvenue, mon ami! My name is Francis Bonnefoy, and this is the little gang we have. There really is nothing else to call this group or crazy people." Francis eyes sparkled even more as he talked, Elizabeth noticed.

"So, you just took him here?" A man with a heavy British accent interrupted. His sandy locks dyed with red and blue on this tips, he was showing a variety of colors – especially the green eyes that he was hiding.

"He's much grand than you, newbie!" Gilbert spat back, pushing some of them so he could make room for him and Elizabeth.

"If anyone's the newbie, it's the damn cowboy!" Another guy said, with amber eyes and hair that looked like he cut it himself – except for that one strand of hair that stuck out. He was pointing to a man with glasses, who had is arm wrapped around the English man's waist.

"It's true," The apparent cowboy said, taking a bite from his hamburger. He didn't seem to care about people pointing to him, he seemed much focused on the task of eating his lunch.

"Anyway, are you homophobic?" Another person asked Elizabeth, who had curly brown locks and a sunshine smiled that Elizabeth immediately warmed up to.

"Oh, no… I honestly never thought about it so I don't care," Elizabeth responded, chest pounding. Oh, if only they knew.

"So, where's Mattie and Roddy?" Gilbert asked, who began to eat his food. Elizabeth felt her shoulders relax. She felt comfortable there.

"Mattie's with his Hockey buddies catching up, he'll be here soon." The man with glasses said. "Who knows where Roderich is."

"Anyway, guy with dyed tips is Arthur Kirkland," The said fellow raised his hand in hello. "His boyfriend over there is Alfred Jones." Alfred smiled as Gilbert continued his introductions. "Boy with a hair curl is Lovino Vargas with his boyfriend – don't deny it Lovino – is Antonio Carriedo. And you already know Franny, me, and we'll let you meet the other two later."

Elizabeth sat there, taking in the information. It was perfect deal for her, all these years, hiding with her computer when her father was there. Elizabeth loved yaoi secretly, oh wonderful Boy's Love. Going to Hetalia University was perfect, yaoi in real-life action! Elizabeth almost squealed, she was having an inner-mind conflict.

She was finishing half of her Gulyás, when two others came over to the table. One was a young man who looked much like Alfred, but with longer hair. He seemed sweaty, shown by his hair being tied up in a high pony tail, in a similar way Francis had.

The other was a man that she had met before – Roderich.

"Oh, hello Andres," Roderich said, sitting across from Elizabeth and Gilbert.

Elizabeth smiled. "Andres?" The other guy, who Elizabeth realized as Matthew, sat down as well.

"Hedervary. Andres Hedervary." Elizabeth said, extending her hand to shake it with Matthew's. He shook it back.

"Andy, you know the pianist?" Gilbert asked, surprised.

Roderich raised his eyebrow. "Andres, I suppose you met your roommate."

"Tch. Did you show him around campus, Roddy?" Gilbert asked, seething. Elizabeth could see though, that he was hiding a smile while drinking his water. His eyes sparkled.

"Yes, I did." Roderich answered back, cutting a knife through his dish.

There were plenty of conversations after that – all random stuff.

Elizabeth felt comfortable over all. It wasn't as if she didn't have friends in back before entering college, she just felt uncomfortable. People around her knew she was different, she probably had an aura saying she didn't want to be spoken to. Distressing. It was terrible that in High School, she fully knew that she was a girl who was raised a boy. It was terribly awkward in the boy's health room. It was much more terribly awkward in the locker room. She knew that she was a girl, even if she had gotten used to it years after.

People mostly avoided her, but she still had some friends. But here, she felt a bit comfortable.

Of course, Elizabeth knew she was lying to herself.

_Snap!_

"What the hell?" She gasped, holding her chest in surprise. She was falling on her back slowly, but someone stopped the chair. Her heart started to beat faster. She took a deep breathe. And another. Another. Then she fully calmed down and sat properly on her chair.

"Tch." Gilbert smirked at her. "You should have been listening to me the first time, but you should be honored to be saved by me anyway."

" _What the hell?"_  She repeated again. Elizabeth searched around the group again, to find them all staring. Why were they staring? Oh crap… Elizabeth cupped a hand on her mouth, realizing such a stupid thing she had done letting her guard down.

"Heh! Is Andy still in his puberty years?" Gilbert mocked in a high-pitched voice. "How old are you, your still having cracks?"

Elizabeth regained her composure as 'Andres'. "Twenty-one."

She noticed Roderich's eyebrows furrowed together, staring at her intensely. She stared back. It seemed like hours until Roderich spoke. "Do you perhaps, sing?"

"I was in choir."

"I see. May I ask you to visit the school's nurse later?" Roderich asked.

"Woah. Why does he have to go to Vlad? That guy is creepy." Gilbert interrupted as the rest of their friends returned to their conversations.

"Never mind. Just come with me." Roderich grabbed her wrist, ignoring Gilbert's protests completely, leaving their lunches alone.

Elizabeth didn't mind walking to the nurse, but she didn't understand why she had to leave right away. "What? Why?"

"Andres!" Gilbert shouted as they were halfway out of the fancy cafeteria. "Come back! Roddy! What the hell? Why are you leaving me?"

"Ignore him." Roderich muttered walking away.

After they were out of the cafeteria, Roderich let go of her wrist and continued to walk. Elizabeth followed. "Why do I have to check the nurse?"

"Check on your vocal cords. I think it would be nice if someone could sing Edelweiss with me. I want to see the highest note you can reach, because I know that earlier," Roderich pushed his glasses up by the bridge of his nose. "Wasn't your voice cracking."

Elizabeth decided to leave that alone. She didn't know it Roderich found out her secret, but it didn't seem like it. They continued walking until they reached the Nurse's Office.

"Excuse me," Roderich asked, knocking on the door. "Sir Vladimir?"

The door opened. "Ah!" It was a young man with a red and yellow streak on his head, with red eyes. It wasn't like Gilbert's. Gilbert's eyes were full excitement, adventure, enthusiasm. They were bright. They sparkled. This man had dull red eyes, but had a spark in them. A calm before a storm. "Hello, Roderich. What may I help you with?"

"This young man, Andres," Roderich grabbed her shoulder and pushed her forwards. "I would like you to check on his vocals. I want to see his vocal range."

Elizabeth saw the nurse – whose name was apparently Vladimir – looking at him. It wasn't like looking at her body, it was analytical as his eyes looked up and down her body. His red eyes seemed cold for a second, but he returned to his sunny state, opening the door wide.

"Of course! Come on in!" Vladimir took in Elizabeth, but closed the door slightly as Roderich was about to get in. "Sorry! But I would like to test Andres privately. And please no eavesdropping." And he shut the door.

"Just wait a second," Vladimir placed his ear on the door for a few seconds. "Okay, I think he's gone now,  _miss_." Elizabeth smiled and nodded her head.

…

_Miss?_

"Sir, I think you made a mistake. I'm not a-"

"Not a girl?" Vladimir sneered. "No matter which way I look at you, you are undoubtedly female."

Elizabeth froze.

"Please sit. Would you like coffee?" Vladimir asked lightly, holding his cup. He didn't feel like a bad person, he felt like a person who she could and sit and talk to for hours.

But Elizabeth just stood there.

"Fine. I'll sit." And he did so. "So please tell me. Why is there a girl attending an all-boy's school?"

Elizabeth glared at him.

"Oh, come on! Let me try something lighter," He added a teaspoon of sugar in his coffee. "What's your name?"

"Andres Hedervary."

Vladimir tightened his smile, "No, dear, your real name."

"I cannot answer that."

"I don't think you are in the position to say that. If you won't give me your real name, at least tell me why you are here." Vladimir stirred his cup.

Elizabeth wrung her hands together. After all these years, an aloof nurse finds out? She bit the inside of her cheek, not daring eye contact.

"Scholarship, sir."

"Why do you have a scholarship to an all-boy's school?" Vladimir asked once again.

Elizabeth dug her fingernails in her skin. This was not supposed to happen. She just came here. Today!

"I grew up as a boy – received a scholarship when I was growing up to this school. Scholarship means free education."

Elizabeth wrung her hands faster, hoping he would just let it go. Which, of course, she knew wouldn't happen.

"Your roommate is Gilbert Beilschmidt?" Vladimir asked, typing fast on his computer.

Elizabeth nodded.

"Hmn…" Vladimir mused. "I won't report you."

Her eyes widened, her heart beat pulsed faster. Color regained on her face. She leaped out of her chair and smacked her hands on the table. "Really?"

"Of course, I mean, I…" The rest of his sentence was a complete blur to Elizabeth, but she didn't care.

She was going to stay at this school, the one place she felt comfortable at, the one where she was for free.

"Anyway," Vladimir cleared his throat. "Let's check your range."

* * *

"Soprano to High Baritone?" Roderich echoed Elizabeth as the group walked to the soccer (football, she remembered, she was in Europe) field.

"Really?" Gilbert asked, unbelieving. He placed his hand on Elizabeth's shoulder. "I was expecting a Bass!"

"Do you know the lyrics to Edelweiss, Andres?" Roderich asked. Gilbert looked at her expectantly.

"Yes."

"Awesome! Now we can have singer for our duet!" Gilbert hung his arms over both Roderich and Elizabeth's shoulders. Roderich pushed his glasses up.

"Singer?" Elizabeth asked.

"Well," Roderich twisted his hand. "Gilbert and I preform Edelweiss – I do piano, he does violin."

"And you!" Gilbert pointed at her. "Can sing above mezzo-soprano, which is perfect for Edelweiss! But I do think it is kind of weird for a guy your age, twenty-one, can sing that high. Is that even normal?"

Elizabeth felt bubbles in her chest with the compliment. It was annoying her though, she wasn't into 'romantic' stuff as you would call it. She didn't dare look up to his eyes, focusing anywhere else but him.

She decided to ignore conversations of the whole 'group' – which she apparently began to hang out with – until they reached the football field.

She thought it was weird, having their opening ceremony at a football field. They sat at the front row, Elizabeth noticed that Antonio and Arthur were missing.

Lovino was grabbing the railing, looking expectedly at the field. He was just waiting and waiting.

A man, the same person Elizabeth saw when she first saw Roderich playing the piano, stepped up a small podium in front of the field.

He cleared his thought, "Hello, Axis students. I am your principal and Axis representative, Rainer Beilschmidt. As you well know, today is the Opening Ceremony, a day when we show our inter-dorm spirit. We will play multiple football games, our orchestra will be playing, and lastly, we will have a beginning of the year party."

"For our finals, the best team from here and Allies will play the last football game." He placed his cards down and grabbed the microphone. "So we better beat their damn asses!"

A roar from the crowd. Was the school crazy? Elizabeth honestly didn't know.

She felt Gilbert stand up behind him, yelling, "I LOVE YOU, DADDY!"

The principal, who Elizabeth surprisingly assumed was Gilbert's dad, flushed red. "Is that your dad?" She asked.

"Hell yeah!" He grinned at her, cheering for their school.

Elizabeth felt those weird bubbles again, that weird feeling. It was incredibly foreign. Her heart began to beat faster.

She covered though. She knew how to act. She knew how to keep her cool. She stood up and cheered along with the rest of the school.

After that, the principal stepped aside as two soccer (football, Elizabeth needed to put that in her mind) teams. One white, one red.

"Our dorm, Valens, is the red team. The white ones are Sapiens." Gilbert whispered to her as they gazed at the field. "Antonio is on our team. Arthur is on the Sapiens."

Elizabeth's eyes returned to Lovino, "Alfred's not going to cheer on Arthur?"

"He will," Gilbert responded, winking.

Elizabeth turned the other way, yeah, she was acting a bit dumb.

"On the right side, TEAM VALENS!"

And they cheered. And cheered. Elizabeth grabbed both of Gilbert and Roderich's hands and shoot it up and screamed as loud as she could. She saw Lovino sliding his hands across the railing, yelling at most likely, Antonio.

"IF YOU WIN, MY HANDS WON'T JUST BE ON THIS RAILING!"

Elizabeth flushed, realizing the innuendo.

"On the left side, TEAM SAPIENS!"

Cheers from the crowd again, Elizabeth cheered along with Gilbert and Roderich – perhaps a bit less because it was for the other side. Alfred jumped out of the bleachers (Shirtless, she might add) and yelled loudly, probably at Arthur.

"YOU CAN BE TOP TONIGHT IF YOU WIN IT!"

Elizabeth once again, flushed. She didn't know if the school was just very accepting of gays, or whatever.

The poor, nervous referee stepped to middle of the field. "THE OPENING CEREMONY BEGINS!" And he blew his whistle,

Elizabeth watched as the two teams ran up to the ball at an instant. She watched as Antonio ran toward the middle of the field trying to grab the ball befogoa're Arthur, who was running in the same direction. Screams from Lovino and Alfred continued, earning a few looks from others as they were being openly gay to the world.

But Arthur didn't get the ball, he continued to run forward to the opposite side of the field along with two other guys. Antonio dribbled the ball to another and ran to the middle of the field.

"Antonio passed the ball to Miguel, his cousin. Miguel is center forward." Gilbert commented, eyes focused on the game.

Portugal passed through two guys before the ball being caught by a man with blond hair – Eduard according to Gilbert who was basically commentating the whole game for her.

Eduard passed it to a tall Asian looking man – apparently named Yong-Soo – who passed it to another Asian – Yao.

Yao dribbled the ball and kicked it to the net, a goal for the Sapiens. Elizabeth saw the referee put the ball in the middle of Antonio's part of the field and blew the whistle. Antonio passed it to Matthias who passed it to Miguel. Miguel dribbled for a while, trying hard not to look at the ball.

Someone – Kiku – was trying to steal the ball as Miguel tried to dribble closer to the goal. Just as Miguel was about to score a goal, Kiku grabbed it and passed it to Heracles who scored another goal. Elizabeth groaned inwardly, but loud enough for Gilbert to hear.

"Hey," Gilbert nudged her arm. "Antonio knows what he's doing. He does this strategy every so often. The Valens are undefeated!"

Elizabeth pumped her fists along with Gilbert, she honestly didn't get how this school functioned, how she was not going to get caught in her façade, but she felt most comfortable where she was. The bright orange reflected on his white hair, making it glow, which made him look like the most beautiful thing Elizabeth had ever seen.

Heracles scored a goal. Two points for the Sapiens. Once the Sapiens reached five goals, tired of Alfred's teasing, Lovino got up, pushed Elizabeth and Gilbert aside and fiddled with the collar of his shirt. Elizabeth saw that it was half-time and they only had fourty-five minutes. Lovino yelled loud enough for the whole world to hear _, "Un punto es una noche caliente de mí gritando tu nombre!"_

Antonio flushed red hearing the comment. Elizabeth heard Antonio call his team, having a team meeting. She turned to Gilbert, who was also flushing, "What did Lovino say? It didn't sound Italian."

Gilbert didn't answer, instead turning to face the other way, leaving Elizabeth in a confused expression. She felt someone poke her shoulder, meeting Matthew's eyes. "I think," Matthew whispered. "It would be more appropriate if you didn't know."

Shrugging it off, the game resumed. Antonio once again passed the ball to Miguel. Antonio seemed calmer, more serious on the game. But again, Sapiens won.

Elizabeth couldn't see how Valens was undefeated, but as the ball was placed in the middle and then Antonio once again put his team in a normal position. But something was off. Gilbert suddenly grinned. He waited. And he waited.

Then Antonio ran to the front, near Miguel, taking the ball from him. "GO ANTONIO!" Screamed Gilbert, jumping out of his seat.

Antonio ran and ran, passed everyone and scored a goal. Chants of An-to-ni-o by the audience was heard, cheering on the Spaniard. Antonio grinned, running back to his position, but Miguel and Antonio were switched. Antonio led each goal, passing it to various team mates.

By ten minutes, it was 6-6. Tie. Antonio and Arthur were now glaring at each other as the referee nervously blew the whistle.

Elizabeth saw as Antonio sprinted for the ball, kicking it up in the air. Matthias caught it, dribbling it to the basket. He passed it to Lin, who was preoccupied with Gupta. Gilbert at that point, was chanting. Lovino was grasping the railing, his knuckles white. Alfred was halfway to the railing, staring at the field intensely.

Seven minutes. Elizabeth saw Antonio sprinted behind Gupta, which she saw Lin spot. Lin then maneuvered around Gupta and passed the ball to Antonio.

Antonio then tried to score a goal, which missed by a hair. Collective groans were heard.

Four minutes. Arthur reached the ball again, tossing the ball to a Berwald. Antonio flicked his hand from Matthias to Berwald. Matthias then ran to the taller man and guarded him for a few seconds, before Berwald froze and Matthias stole the ball.

"Dirty cheat," Alfred muttered, he was right next to Lovino, intensely watching the game. Matthias then passed it to Miguel who dribbled it to Antonio.

"One minute," She heard Gilbert mutter. Gilbert had stop commentating for her at this point. He was on the edge of his seat, eyes focused on the game. His left hand barely touching his chin, his right next to hers.

Antonio and Miguel then began dribbling it to each other as they both ran across the field. Antonio then passed it to Sadık. Antonio took his second to run by the goal post. He waved one hand in urgency. Sadık then passed it to him.

Arthur was a second behind Antonio, about to steal the ball, but missed. Antonio had scored a goal.

The game ended. Valens won the first game of the year.

Gilbert seized Elizabeth's hand as he jumped in the year screaming as loud as he could. He was jumping, making Elizabeth jump with him. Roderich gave out a grin and clapped his hands.

Gilbert just screamed and screamed. Elizabeth just smiled as Gilbert waved their hands together.

Two games later and Elizabeth was tired. The next game was Animus and Sapiens, which Animus had won. Then Valens and Animus once again, which was a near loss of the Valens.

Elizabeth yawned. She was still sleepy from her plane ride, and basically the day itself. If she wasn't woken up by Gilbert barging in, maybe she still would be asleep.

"Sleepy?" Gilbert asked next to her.

Elizabeth nodded her head, "Yeah."

"Then I might as well get us some drinks," Roderich said, standing up and left.

There was a moment of comfortable silence. The stars were shining a bit, it was almost six. The city lights was far away from the campus, Elizabeth noticed that even with the smallest amount of stars looked brighter than the city.

"Oh, yeah." Gilbert muttered next to her. "You came from the States, right?"

"Yeah," Elizabeth yawned once again.

"I must've interrupted your sleep, huh." Gilbert spread his limbs on the bleachers. "Was it a long trip?"

"Yeah," Elizabeth muttered.

Gilbert shifted around, "Sorry,"

Elizabeth began to fidget around her seat as well. "Nah, it's okay," Her voice grew softer, not a men's voice at all. She didn't meet Gilbert's eyes, instead to choose to look up at the sky. The sky twinkled as more stars appeared.

Footsteps were heard on the metal seats. Roderich must be back. "I got us Budweiser, is that okay, Andres?"

Elizabeth didn't mind the taste of beer. Her dad would let her sip some when he's in such a great mood and her brother would whenever he got drunk. She didn't have a personal opinion on it. She nodded though, grabbing the can.

"Tch, cheap factory beer. Who cares if it was made in Germany?" Gilbert exclaimed, but still popped the can open. "One day, we're going to a place where they have some damn real beer."

"I have to agree on that," Roderich popped the can in a similar way, taking his seat next to Elizabeth.

Tentatively, Elizabeth took a sip. She didn't drink beer much, as drinking laws were much stricter in the US than the Europe. She took another sip. As she was drinking, she heard Gilbert snort. "Tch, you drink like a girl!"

Elizabeth snapped her head up and took a gulp out of her can at the second she heard the comment. Partially because it ticked her off and she knew that she had to keep her façade up.

Then Rainer stepped up on the podium once again. "Axis student, I know you are eager to learn who will be facing our champions, Valens!" The whole school cheered. They all wanted to beat the Allies apparently.

"Now you must understand, even as they are women, you must not underestimate them!" Elizabeth nodded her head slightly. "Treat them equally! Never back down just because they are the opposite sex!"

The school cheered again. Even Arthur, who lost twice, was. He seemed flush a bit, his shirt disheveled, his hair was a mess. He seemed drunk, which was maybe why he was screaming on the top of his lungs and Alfred's eyes were twitching from holding Arthur down.

"The winners from the Allies school are Isheros!" Rainer then stepped down, allowing the school to yell as the ladies from the counterpart school entered the field. There were a bunch of yells, both positive and negative. Gilbert was screaming a bunch of vulgar insults as Roderich clapped politely.

Elizabeth first noticed the leader of the team, was beautiful. She envied her long hair tied in a ponytail, her clear skin. But her hair was platinum, her eyes were red – just like Gilbert.

Gilbert yelled the loudest as the leader made her entrance. "Lay off, ya bugger!" The girl seemed to know he was talking to her, as she blew him a mock kiss.

Elizabeth turned to Roderich for an explanation.

"Sister." Roderich said. "Elder sister by about a year. Then there's Julchen's best friends, they have no relation to Antonio or Francis if you might wonder."

Elizabeth nodded, watching as the male and female teams traveled to their side of the field. The referee whistle blew. And that was it. Screams from the bleachers, louder than Elizabeth had heard in any of the games, were heard. Antonio seemed to be glaring as he was running toward the ball.

Julchen got to it first though. She passed it to a girl on her right, who passed it across the field to another girl. Sadık got the ball in-between the passes, who passed it to Matthias. Matthias continued to dribble the ball, and scored.

1-0

Elizabeth grinned they had to win.

…

7-6

And it wasn't a win for the Axis. Another win to the Allies School. Elizabeth groaned as the whistle was blown. She heard Gilbert screaming in agony. She saw Roderich's disappointed look. She tried to ignore a bunch of other screams.

Taking her phone out, she checked the time.

7:45

She tucked it back in her pocket and gazed at the stars. She didn't know any constellations, but it was still pretty to see. She closed her eyes and drifted off to the sleep that she never got.

"Andres? Andres…" She felt someone shake her. She opened her eyes and saw Roderich with a cocktail glass.

"Huh?" She mumbled.

She felt Roderich sit next to her. "Why aren't you at the party?"

"Party?"

"Well, I belive you fell asleep and Gilbert carried you to a more comfortable spot. I would have expected that you woke up around eight to finish the rest of the ceremony. It's now the party." Roderich explained.

Elizabeth took in her surroundings, she did realize she was in a different place. It looked like she was against a tree, but she could still see the same stars she saw earlier.

"Huh, I think I'll skip the party." She got up and stretched. "What time is it?"

"About ten, I believe."

"I'll just go to bed." Elizabeth said softly.

"Escort?"

"Nah,"

Roderich nodded. "Of course." And then he left.

Elizabeth began to walk her way as well. She was walking down the hallways, thinking about her day. In a day, she came here from America. In a day, she escaped the clutches of her father. In a day only.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't spot Gilbert ambling around.  _Maybe he's going to our dorm,_ Elizabeth thought, picking up her pace to meet Gilbert. His red eyes were much more red than they already were, his pale skin was flushed. He seemed to be staggering quite a bit, one of his arms was touching the wall.

As she walked nearer, she could smell alcohol. She saw a beer bottle in his hand and wondered how much he had before he got drunk.

"Gilbert," Elizabeth began. Her father would come home drunk many days and Elizabeth would have to take care of him. Her father liked it when she acted nice because in his drunken state, it reminded him of her mom. But it varies to each drunk. "Come on, let's get to our dorms."

"An…Andres, right?" Gilbert slurred, eyes closed. Gilbert was slowly walking toward Elizabeth.

Elizabeth sighed, how she wished he could say her actual name. "Yes, it's me Andres. Come on, let's go."

"Andres…" Elizabeth stopped. Gilbert was staring at her weirdly. "Ya know… You kinda look like a girl."

Elizabeth froze in place. Gilbert was then directly in front of her. She saw the moonlight reflect from the window across the hallway. The pale light danced across Gilbert's hair, making him glow and his eyes glow even more. She smelled the rough smell of beer as he breathed out. "A pretty kinda girl," Gilbert muttered again, pushing a lock of loose hair from her face.

Elizabeth felt her face flush. The cold air didn't help how warm she was feeling. "Gilbert, your drunk. Come on."

"Let's go."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is a college AU. A bunch of crude language. Alcohol. Sex. If you are offended by this, stop reading. I think I'll change the rating to M as the series progresses.
> 
> I know the end was a bit dramatic.
> 
> This features Punk!Iggy, UsUk, Spamano, JeanneXFrance, and a load of other pairings and of course – a bunch of frying pangle.
> 
> I USE GOOGLE TRANSLATE, IF THE TRANSLATIONS ARE WRONG, PLEASE INFORM ME AND HELP ME SO I CAN FIX IT.
> 
> Gulyás: A type of Hungarian soup/stew made from meat, noodles, vegetables, seasoned with paprika.
> 
> Un punto es una noche caliente de mí gritando tu nombre!: Spanish One point is one hot night of me screaming your name!
> 
> Bienvenue, mon ami!: French Welcome, my friend!
> 
> Im Yong-Soo: South Korea
> 
> Wang Yao: China
> 
> Honda Kiku: Japan
> 
> Vladimir Lupul: Romania
> 
> Matthias Kohler: Denmark
> 
> Berwald Oxenstierna: Sweden
> 
> Sadık Adnan: Turkey
> 
> Julchen Beilschmidt: Nyo!Prussia as Gilbert's sister
> 
> Rainer Beilschmidt: Germania (Gilbert, Ludwig, and Julchen's father)
> 
> Miguel Hernandez: Portugal


	4. All of Your Flaws & All of My Flaws

**Singing this Lie**

**Chapter 2: All of your Flaws & And all of my Flaws**

**Bastille – Flaws**

* * *

Gilbert's head hurt. His face was a bit sticky. Maybe a bit of drool on his face? Groaning, he gradually propped himself on his elbow, wiped his face with his other hand trying to recall the events of last night. He was wearing his clothes, except his jacket was thrown away somewhere and the buttons of his crinkled shirt was undone.

His hair was messed up all in different angles, eyes droopy. He tried to concentrate with an aching head on what was going on. When he regained his senses, he could faintly here the rapid drops falling from the shower.

_Shower… Why is the shower on?_  Gilbert furrowed his eyes, thinking who could be using the shower. He was the only one living in the dorm. And why so  _early_ in the morning? He opened his eyes, getting up from his cluttered bed, and took lethargic steps to the calendar.

September 2nd. It had a big circle on it saying 'First day of classes!' Gilbert's eyes immediately shot up, his headache hurting harder than ever, and took a quick glance at the clock. 6:15.  _Well, crap._ Gilbert thought as he scrimmaged through the closet to find something presentable to wear.  _My classes start at seven, I should be in the building by at least 6:45 so I can scramble with my map and schedule to find classes._ Gilbert rushed to the bathroom, turning the knob to find it locked.

"What the hell, Andres? Why lock the door?" Gilbert half-screamed, half-groaned. It was way too early for this. He heard the shower turn off.

"You're awake?" Came the mild, shocked, smoothing voice from the other side of the door.

Gilbert grumbled. "Well, yeah! Can you open the door so I can make myself look somewhat presentable?"

"Let me put my clothes on!" Andres yelled from the other side, you could hear the irritation in her voice.

"Why can't you just open the door?" Gilbert yelled back.

A few muffled sounds later, Andres opened the door. His damp hair was in some disheveled ponytail, he was wearing some white shirt and boxers. Gilbert felt his face flush a bit. "Calm down! I didn't even grab my clothes, here the shower's all yours." Andres brushed the door in Gilbert's face as he walked towards his drawers to find some kind of clothes.

Gilbert shot a broken glare at the Hungarian, who was drying his hair. He walked in the restroom, not bothering locking the door.

He stripped down and headed in the shower. The small room turned misty in a matter of seconds. As he stepped in the shower, he tried to remember why he was having a massive headache.

He shut his eyes as the hot water smoothed down his sore muscles. All he could remember was a pretty girl with brown hair. Like that girl he met at the airport.

He then recovered from his reverie and was brought back to reality by a rapping on the door. "Gilbert, come on! It's 6:40!"

" _Scheiße_!" The albino cursed. He turned the shower off the wrong way, resulting is boiling hot water doused on him. He cursed again, turning the shower off the right way, leaping out of the shower, clumsily drying off himself.

He somehow got dressed in some sort of jeans on with some random shirt to make him look  _anything_ but a guy who was probably going to cause some trouble. Grabbing himself a sweater and bag, he headed out the door with Andres who was tapping his fingers restlessly.

Gilbert locked the door behind them and somehow – in an unspoken agreement with Andres – he was going to drop Andres off in one of his classes.

After putting on his sweater on, he took a quick glance at the Hungarian. Andres's hair was in a much cleaner ponytail, a clean white button-up with a brown jacket. It was nothing special, but Gilbert felt his heart rate sped up by a bit. Gilbert gulped and sputtered out the question he wanted to ask Andres as they got into his black BMW. "So, what's your first class?"

"Political Science, Room 159."

Gilbert groaned inwardly and placed one of his hands on his forehead. His first class was Computer Science, which was Room 219 – a completely different section of the school.

"Hey," Andres said tapping Gilbert's shoulder while he starting up the engine. "If it's too far, I could use ask someone else."

Gilbert's demeanor grew even worse. "It's not even that far. And, because if I can't do it, who can?"

He backed up the car and started to drive. He saw Andres peering through the window, looking at the scenery. Perfectly mowed grass with intimidating willow trees. They passed by an old-fashioned bridge over a river. The distance to the dorms and the university wasn't large – usually, he would have walked or carpooled with some of his friends, but he was so  _late._

They got to Andres's Political Science class around 6:50, and Gilbert sped off to his class. The tires screeched. This time, he hardly stopped to look at the flowery surroundings.

He parked in one fluid motion and immediately sprinted as soon as he locked the door to his car. He jogged to the automatic doors and looked for 219, not bothering to ask. He glanced up and down at each door. Fortunately, it was on the first floor.

He grinned to himself as he found 219 and checked his watch. 6:57. Three minutes left to spare. He opened the white door and saw weird mixtures of students. Half of the room was filled with students sitting at their desks and the other half was goofing around. The professor wasn't there at the moment, so Gilbert searched the room for a place to sit.

Gilbert spotted an Asian kid with glasses in the second row by the window. The said person had short black hair and skin that could compare to Gilbert's. He looked familiar, so Gilbert decided to go sit next to him. As he got closer, he realized it was Honda Kiku. Sure, he saw Kiku many times with glasses on during high school, but that was so long ago he forgot faces.

"Hey, Kiku!" Gilbert greeted, slapping him on the back. Kiku seemed visibly stressed, you could see the subtle shaking as Gilbert talked to him. Once Kiku turned and saw his old colleague, he relaxed.

"Hello there, Gilbert." Kiku said in a small accent where you could faintly hear the l's like r's. "You enrolled in Computer Science as well?"

"Of course, if I wasn't, I wouldn't be here!" Gilbert put his bag down, silently saying thanks that he didn't bring his laptop. "What's your major?"

"Animation." Kiku replied, taking out supplies from his bag. He also pulled his smartphone and started texting rapidly. "What's yours? And we have about twenty seconds until the professor comes in."

"Engineering." Gilbert replied. Kiku was still texting. After a few seconds, he put the phone away. Gilbert could only guess who he was texting. Kiku lived with a bunch of other people in a huge house near Gerrard Street, and almost all those people he lived with attended the school. It was like living with ten siblings your age.

And then the door to the classroom opened for the last time, and welcomed a man probably in his late-twenties to early-thirties. He had black hair and a red scarf which was unusual because the weather wasn't that bad. "Good morning all of you." All of the student immediately sat down in their seats. Gilbert could only see that the man was walking at the most leisurely pace and that his eyes were bloodshot. Not like his own eyes, but like a sleepless bloodshot.

"So, today," he drawled on as he sat down on his chair, opened his laptop of the latest model, and took out a coke bottle. "We will be discussing the syllabus of this course which you guys will be taking Mondays-Saturdays."

The professor glared at all of his students, which made Gilbert gulp .unconsciously _  
_

* * *

Elizabeth yawned. Pity that it was a Monday. She had photography Mondays and Fridays so she couldn't get a good enough lunch. She was out of her Journalism class and was about to brief bite to eat before she headed to Photography. Francis was with her during that class, but he had to rushed off somewhere before she could say goodbye.

She saw a familiar guy, she started to walk faster towards the figure who was walking in the same direction she was. It was Lovino. She tapped his head gently, wondering what he was going to do. "Huh, what the hell do you-" Lovino turned and saw Elizabeth with a blank face.

"Oh, it's just you, Andres." Lovino causally said, handling a small paper bag. "So, where you heading?"

"Photography, room 305." She read from her schedule.

Lovino hummed. "You aren't going to get something to eat?"

"I'm not sure, I was thinking about it, but I'm not so sure."

Lovino hummed again. "I have some Cannoli Ricotta here. I don't really want it. I had some churros and a Caffè macchiato already," He shoved the small bag he was holding in her face. "And I'm going to see Professor Haliburton anyway."

"Really?" Andres peered in the bag, it was wrapped delicately in white tissue. "Thanks. Why do you need to see the professor?"

"Nothing much."

And they were at the Animus halls, quietly, Lovino leading the way. It was silent, the footsteps of Lovino's Italian shoes could be heard as he took every step.

They stopped at room 305 and Lovino clicked his tongue. "We're here," He opened the door for Andres who stepped in the classroom. Andres kept on hearing small irritated noises that Lovino kept on making. There was a messy desk and spread out desks. The windows were wide open, the autumn breeze filling in.

"He's asleep again." Lovino muttered, walking to the back of the classroom. "Professor Haliburton, your class will be starting in fifteen minutes. Lucky you, I locked the door earlier so there's barely anyone here."

Elizabeth observed Lovino help let the professor stand up. She was expecting and elder man, but saw a young man, probably no much older that her or Lovino. He was pale and ailing. "Oh, you must be Lovino's friend." He said as he spotted Elizabeth. His voice was quiet, and he had a bunch or brown hair under a newsboy cap.

"I'm also going to be a student here, my name is Andres Hedervary."

"My name is Rolo Haliburton," The professor got up and shook Elizabeth's hand. "Just sit wherever you please, class will be starting soon." Professor Haliburton walked up to his desk with a pleasant smile.

Elizabeth saw in the corner of her eye that Lovino scoffed, but he sat down anyway. Elizabeth followerd his lead, and sat down next to him. She placed her right hand on her cheek, thinking about her day. As the minutes passed by, students started to come in and fill in the once empty seats.

Once it time for class to start, Professor Haliburton spoke. "Hello class, I hope you somehow get a bite to eat. Welcome to Photography class! My name is Rolo Haliburton, I'm most comfortable with you just calling me Rolo, because I'm not that much older than you lot, but you might be uncomfortable so Professor Haliburton would be find as well. I'll be passing out the syllabus momentarily, so please listen."

He got a stack of paper from the back of his desk and began to pass them out. "I expect you all to read the whole thing, because there are things I'm not explaining. We'll be having galleries and projects throughout this course. Some days we'll be inside the classroom, learning. But most days, we go outside. I do expect you all have equipment." As he finished, he was back at his desk, sitting down. "Questions?"

"How many projects are we doing sir?" Someone in the front asked.

"I'm rounding to about five-seven. Not including galleries." Professor Haliburton said.

No one asked anything after that. "Okay then, just two more things." He pointed two of his fingers at Lovino, beckoning him to come over. Lovino rolled his eyes, but walked over anyway.

"This is my assistant teacher, his name is Lovino Vargas. He's also a student, so I expect you to respect him. He's not going to be in this class usually, but you might see him sometimes." Professor Haliburton patted Lovino's shoulders. "Second, today is a free, outside day. Meaning, you get to wander around the school campus, getting inspiration, pictures, etc. You can also get a bite to eat. You can slack off if you will, but don't blame me for your grades. I believe most days will be outside days for you. I think it's much better than staying in a stuffy class room."

Elizabeth along with the whole class nodded. "Then start heading off!"

Elizabeth grabbed her stuff, and started heading out using the door that Professor Haliburton provided to the outside of the campus. She was already thinking of where to go, she really wanted to take a picture of the willow trees near the river. She checked her Samsung cell phone, it was around 1:20, so maybe she could check it out and make it to her Physical Education class she was  _required_ to take by the school. If you were Dorm 1, you were supposed to have Physical Education class to keep up with your dormitory. Same goes to the other dormitories, just depends which dorm you are in.

She was walking alone, Lovino stayed in the room with Professor Haliburton. She took some pictures of campus on her way, took pictures of little things like two people studying, the sky. She liked photography, it let her observe the little wonders of life. Like people getting along and how the grass moves.

She was already close to the river with the willow trees, she took some more pictures. As she was taking one last picture with the willow trees on the far right, the river in focus, a pat on her shoulder and a breathe by her ear. She spun, taking quick jumps back, and saw the stranger in front of her. Gilbert.

"Really?" Was the only thing that could come out of her mouth, and despite the scare, she still managed to laugh. "No class for you?"

"Actually, we all, amazing people I introduced to you yesterday, chose this time period to hang out so we could all have time for each other. Lovino sometimes has to take care of Haliburton though, so he can't have lunch with us." Gilbert said, "And what about you?"

"Photography," Elizabeth replied, holding up her camera. She felt the breeze of the lake behind hitting her.

"Well," Gilbert started after a few seconds of nothing. "How was your first day?"

"Well, Political Science was okay. And I had Economics and Journalism which was very interesting. And Photography, I have Physical Education in like twenty minutes though." She replied, checking her phone.

"Well, my day was astonishing. Computer Science, Engineering, and Chemistry was nothing. But Calculus was shite. I may be good at it, but math sucks. And I also have Physical Ed, I'm in your dorm." Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"Well, should we be going?"

"Well, I suppose so."

"Well, what about your  _amazing_ people?"

"Well, stop flirting with me Andres Hedervary." Gilbert replied, smirking.  _Dun._ "And their also  _your_ amazing people. And they won't mind."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes ignoring the tiniest bit of pain that was Andres, and decided to go with Gilbert's little joke, "Well, what was the latest book you have read Mr. Augustus Waters?"

"Shut up. For your information, Antonio forced me to read  _Our Fault in Our Stars_. Francis can't because his views are a bit different from ours."

"Views?"

Gilbert rolled his eyes as if that wasn't important at the moment, which it really wasn't. " _Well,_ I so think we should start heading to the gym, it's about 2:45."

"Well, okay." Elizabeth said, just like that.

Gilbert smirked, starting to walk in the direction of the gym. " _Well,_ I guess  _well_ will be our always?"

"Oh, just stop it." Elizabeth rolled her eyes, following him as they walked away from the river.

"Well, if you say so."

"Well."

"Well."

Elizabeth laughed, "Well just sounds stupid."

Grinning, Gilbert replied, "That's what makes it awesome."

Then they began talking. ("That phrase, 'when pigs fly' makes no sense." "Why are we talking about this.") And laughing. ("Your laugh sounds girly." "What about your laugh, it sounds like a bird?")

They made it to the gym classroom where they would meet unless the professor instructed them to. Matthew was there, waving his hand a bit indifferently. Antonio was there with Matthew, along with Alfred. Gilbert waved his hand up in greeting, high-fived Matthew and pulled Elizabeth to sit by him.

And then the coach came in. He presented himself as Alistair Kirkland, who had three younger brothers, and was apparently Arthur's older brother. "So, basically, I'm your coach and Dylan and Gray will be helping me." His accent was very heavy, but maybe it was because they were one of the few English in an English campus. And Elizabeth couldn't understand him, but she could barely understand everyone.

"I'm not going to bother with ye names, I'll get them someday. Okay, now ye lot, youngest to eldest line. Lemme count ye all off."

The class bustled into a big line, Elizabeth in the middle of the beginning. The youngest was apparently a blond young man, who Elizabeth believed she saw in Antonio's team yesterday. Alistair started counting, pulling out people from time to time, like the youngest with blond hair. He didn't count him, but flicked his hand to go behind him. He would do that from time to time. When he reached Ellizabeth, she was counted as number twenty-one. She stood there and waited, she saw that Alfred was picked out along with Matthew. Antonio was picked out, leaving her and Gilbert alone in the line.

"Numbers less than fifty, head over to Gray!" Allistair pointed to the seemingly youngest of the three brothers with the lightest hair. Gilbert jogged up to catch up with Elizabeth with a grin and they walked over to Gray.

"Okay! Hello youse! Dylan will be taking care of the others above fifty, probably levels above you all! My name is Gray Kirkland, youse  _personal_ coach." Coach Gray said, much friendlier than Alistair. "Oul Alistair will be demonstrating a load with those lot behind him. We're not doing much, just basically watching Alistair show-off till three. And  _I_ will be bothered with ye names."

Gilbert rolled his eyes, making Elizabeth roll her eyes.

"LISTEN!" They heard Alistair roar. "We'll be meeting out in the track in five minutes!" And he left leaving with his bunch.

"Okay, class!" Gray said, smiling. "That's our cue. Alistair just wants all to jog. That eejit." He rolled his eyes. "Let's go!"

They were still in their uniform, consisting of long pants and long sleeved shirt. "Really? Their making us run in this?" Gilbert said behind her as they started to jog?"

Gray had his answer, "No uniforms until the-marra, and honestly, this is the only physical thing we're doing today.

"The what?" Elizabeth asked.

Gilbert rolled her eyes. "'Tommorow'. Tch. With all this slang, my head's gonna hurt."

"You have an accent as well."

"Well, it's not as heavy as theirs. I have more a Prussian accent."

"Well then, were starting this again?" Elizabeth asked as they reached the track.

"Yes," Gilbert said, smirking.

"Okay! This is Vash, Alfred, Matthew, and Antonio." Alistair said when they were all there. "Treat them with respect, top-athletes this lot. Vash is the ROTC Assistant Teacher, piss him off and he'll kill ye." She saw Vash roll his eyes, but looked up to Gilbert and he nodded his head terrified. "Matthew and Alfred are Assistant Teachers at the Flight School, and Antonio head of our undefeated football team, I'll be using them for demonstrations! Gray's team gets Vash and Antonio, Dylan's team gets Alfred and Matthew since they're a pair anyways."

* * *

"So, circuits Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Track Tuesdays. Sports on Thursdays. Evaluation on Saturdays?" Elizabeth repeated the schedule as she and Gilbert headed to the bathroom.

"Yesss, sounds like hell though. And worse of all, we get stuck with Vash. Gray sounds stunning, but Vash. Ugh. Went with him in High School. Do not mess with him."

Elizabeth tried not to roll her eyes. "Why not?"

"Guns."

"Oh, please. He can't be that bad." Elizabeth said as they entered the bathroom. She didn't care about going into the men's bathroom, having gotten used to it for most of her life. But she was careful not to look over at the urinals.

"He's terrifying."

Elizabeth nodded absentmindedly, looking for a stall, which gladly there was one. She left Gilbert and headed toward the stall.

When she was done, headed towards the sink, and wondered where Gilbert was. Then she tripped. "What the hell?"

She turned to face Sadik, the soccer (football, Elizabeth) player on Antonio's team. "Sorry, you were in my way, little one."

Wiping debris off her, she retorted. "I had no idea,  _your majesty."_

She was something tick in him, "Hey, now," He stepped forward a bit. The guys were starting to stare.  _Where was Gilbert?_ "Cut with the sass."

A guy behind Sadik took a careful step toward him. "Sadik, come on. It's not the time to gloat. Joseph is waiting for us outside."

"Oh, just this once, Dan. The new kid has to know when to not talk back to his superiors." Sadik smirked, and stepped closer to Elizabeth to lift her chin. "Right, freshman? Now you have to fight like the men we are." Sadik retracted his arm and began to take a swing at her. Elizabeth felt her head pound on what she got herself into. She was shorter than Sadik, she had less muscles than Sadik. As his first almost hit her face, she blocked it with her right arm.

Her head against the stall, her hair a bit messed up, she glared at Sadik. "Well then," He began. "Looks like freshman here has some strengths. Wanna battle?"

"Really, Sadik-" Dan said, putting his hand on Sadik's shoulder as people start to crowd around them.

"Oh, Dan. Five minutes, you can fight along with me as well."

Dan just stared, taking a step back. "Only if he hurts you." Dan said softly.

"Only." Sadik replied. Elizabeth was breathing evenly, trying to calm herself down and not run out. Elizabeth felt the wind change as Sadik swung his left arm at her. Not knowing what she was doing, she blocked him with both of her arms and tackled him. Before she could do anything after that, Dan took Sadik in his arms and punched Elizabeth.

"Stop." Dan stepped in-between them. Elizabeth panted, she still had energy inside of her. She was going to take a swing at Dan just to prove herself, but she herself felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Your right Dan. Thank you, I hope Sadik is okay. C'mon Andres. I just get my water bottle and you already getting into fights on your first day of classes." Gilbert steered her away from the crowd and out of the bathroom.

Once they were out of the bathroom, Elizabeth slapped Gilbert's hand. "What the hell, Gilbert? I was perfectly fine on my own-"

"Everything would not be perfectly fine if you killed him." Gilbert muttered, grabbing her wrist and pulling her to the door leading to the outside.

When they were outside, Gilbert let go of Elizabeth's hand sensing that she wouldn't resist. "Do you need to go to the nurse?"

"No, I have biology next." Elizabeth replied. Gilbert rolled his eyes.

"Okay, I'm going to say it was pretty stunning that you beat up Sadik a bit, and that he's an arse sometimes but you have to let it go. You earned your reputation, that's great. And yeah, it was a small fine. Pretty much like two minutes. But this is college, not high school. You can't just go picking up fights every single corner."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes this time. "I'm not picking fights, he made me fight him-"

"Oh dear god," Gilbert flicked her forehead. "I'm saying be careful. He could've injured him. You could've killed him."

Elizabeth looked at Gilbert with her green eyes and realized what he meant. Her heart beat quickened. Her clenched hands were shaking.

"That's what I'm trying to knock into you." Gilbert sighed. "But he's okay. Just don't do that again. Or Dan will kill you. And your hair is messed up by the way."

Elizabeth just stared at her hands like they were covered in blood. Her heartbeat was still rising, her face was still pale. She could hear her blood in her body. Then she felt Gilbert untying her hair.

"H-hey," She stuttered. "What are you doing?"

Gilbert rolled his eyes which felt like the he had done so a million times since the conversation started. "Fixing your hair. I told you that it was a mess and you didn't bother with it. As I recall the first time we met, you were very worried about your hair." His pale fingers raked her hair, making her wince when he would brush the tangles. Her heartbeat gradually slowed, she relaxed. Her face regained color. They both lost track of time, they just stood there, Gilbert fixing her hair.

Once Gilbert was done combing her hair, he tied it with her black tie and then checked the time. "Shite,"

Elizabeth looked up knowing what it was about. "What time is it?"

"Eh, around 5:25. Now if you want to catch your Biology class I suggest you would. I need to get to my Government class. See you at our dorm later, Andres." Gilbert waved as he jogged away from her.

Elizabeth was much more clam now, and she decided to run to her Biology class.

* * *

Gilbert was exhausted. He was finally finished with his first day of college. He walked out of his Criminal Justice with a yawn. He was so darn happy that his professors didn't give him any homework except to prepare for the future.

He began walking back to his dorm, playing with his keys in his pocket. As he passed the glass windows passed, he saw the sun setting. It was a mix of orange and red. You could see the last bit of the sun as the day ended. Satisfied with his day, he smiled and began to whistle tunelessly.

He finally got to the parking lot and saw his BMW parked where it was since this morning. He was about to just open the door to just crash on the driver's seat when he realized there was someone on the hood of his car. "Hey, punk, what you-"

The bloke turned and Gilbert saw that it was Andres. He immediately smiled, dumped his stuff in his car, and joined him sitting on his car. "Andres, what are you doing here? I would've expected you up in the dorm already."

Andres took a sip out of a drink that he brought, "My French class just ended, I was about to go to our dorm but I saw your car and here I am."

Gilbert grinned, "Thought you could get a ride or something?" He took his drink and took a sip out of hit.  _Hot Choco…Kinda girly…_ And he voiced out his thoughts.

He turned to see Andres blushing, and took the cup out of his hands. He took a sip and replied, "Don't insult the hot chocolate. Anyway," He took another sip and faced Gilbert. "You're  _not_  going to give me a ride back or something?"

Gilbert sighed mockingly and got of his car. "Okay, get of my car now. We better get going. Just lug your stuff in the car."

He saw Andres grin and got in the right side of his car. Once Gilbert got his engine going, it was already dark.

"I never got why it's opposite," He heard Andres say.

"Oh, yeah.  _Americans_ ," Gilbert rolled his eyes playfully.

"Hey! If you must know, most of the world is the  _right side."_

Gilbert smirked, " _Well_ , it doesn't matter?"

"Oh my gosh, stop."

The rest of trip was silent, Gilbert saw Andres peering through the window again like this morning. It was much more relaxed, because they weren't zooming to their classes like their lives depended on it. They got to their dorms and walked up to their dorm.

They reached room 208, Gilbert pulled out his keys and opened the door. Immediately, he threw his bag near his desk and collapsed on his bed.

He heard Andres sigh and grab his bag. "At least put it away nicely."

"I'm just so glad to be in my bed," Gilbert groaned, grabbing his yellow pillow and hugging it.

"Oh, take your shoes off, Gil." Andres whined, pulling his shoes off. He hit the floor and winced. Gilbert remembered the fight from earlier.

Gilbert jumped out of his bed, pulled Andres to his bed, and grabbed the first aid kit underneath his bed. "Where?" He asked in a clipped tone.

"Huh?" Andres asked.

"Where did that bugger hit ya?" Gilbert asked, inspecting Andres for any injuries.

Andres rolled his eyes and tried to get off of the bed. "More like I hit him, I just got some bruises on my arms from hitting  _him._ I'll be fine."

Gilbert rolled his eyes, "Well, let me see."

Andres rolled his eyes, "Well, let me go."

Gilbert almost smirked, he pushed Andres down and took his sleeve which was covered by his brown jacket. He pulled it. Gilbert saw two big bruises on his left arm.

Andres seemed to have accepted Gilbert's help and just sat on his bed. Gilbert got an ice pack and placed it on his hand. "Keep it overnight, maybe it will heal for tomorrow a bit." He sat next to Andres, hugging his yellow pillow again. It felt nice to have warmth next to him.

Andres nodded and leaped out of his bed. Gilbert frowned slightly, wondering why Andres got up. Andres scrambled to his bunk and shuffled through his things. "I'm going to change," he said and Gilbert grunted in respond.

Lying in bed with his eyes closed, relaxing. He then heard Andres out of the bathroom. "Your turn if you want to change."

Gilbert sighed, "Yes, mummy." And then rummaged through his drawers and found some shirt and changed. He didn't bother to go to the bathroom, he didn't need to. He took off his pants and settled in bed with a shirt and boxers.

He was snuggled in bed, quite comfortable when he heard Andres groan. "Oh, at least brush your teeth." Gilbert peeked through one eye and saw Andres with his hair down, wearing a big blue shirt and some short pick up his clothes. "I'm already picking up your clothes." Gilbert cheeks tinged slightly as Andres held his laundry by his hip, facing Gilbert. Gilbert thought Andres looked  _really_ like a girl then.

"Alright, alright." He saw Andres smile, which he thought was a good enough reward for getting out of his comfortable bed.

They both headed to the bathroom and Andres pointed to a red toothbrush, "That's mine." And grabbed and put some toothpaste and began to brush his teeth.

Gilbert nodded and grabbed his yellow tooth brush and began to brush his teeth.

Once Andres wiped his mouth, he asked, "Are all of your things yellow?"

Gilbert just finished spitting. "Most of my personal things anyway."

Andres rolled his eyes, grinning, and went out of the bathroom. Gilbert then looked at himself in the mirror and realized how  _pretty_ of a guy Andres was.

 


	5. In This Moment we're Connected

**Singing this Lie**

**Chapter 4: In This Moment we're Connected**

**Mayday Parade – Get Up**

* * *

_Sunday, Late September_

Hours turned into days which turned into weeks. And those weeks passing fast. Elizabeth started to sleep more, not cleaning up the dorm like she used to. She missed her brother, Mark. His familiar smile and comforting words. She missed home, where there were pictures of her mom. She missed sleep, needing sleep more and more.

The first week was fine and easy-going, but everything became fast-paced and almost no free-time. It was Sunday, probably the most relaxed day of the week. Or maybe Saturday, Elizabeth wasn't sure. But then Elizabeth mentally agreed that Saturday was more relaxed for her than Sunday. She got up at the usual time of 5:45, and headed to the shower.

Gilbert didn't have any morning classes, he was snoring soundly. Elizabeth wanted to pull his hair because of that, Gilbert annoyed her at the moment.

It was now six, and she was getting dressed. As she was, she noticed her hair was getting longer. Taking a damp strand in between her fingers, she realized that maybe she needed a haircut. She'll get one later, it already reached past her shoulders. She pulled it in a ponytail, buttoned up the last of her shirt, pulled socks on. She walked out of the bathroom, and wrote her note to Gilbert.

_Gil, out for morning classes again. I set the alarm clock for you so you can get ready for your work._

_-Andres_

Gilbert and Roderich had some sort of argument on who was dropping her off, because she didn't have a car and she wouldn't walk because that would take too much time apparently. Weekdays, Gilbert dropped her up and Roderich would pick her up on weekends.

Her phone beeped, meaning that Roderich was outside already. She walked out her dorm, slowly that way she wouldn't wake Gilbert, and walked to the dark blue car Roderich owned. He was there, opening the door for her as always.

"Good morning, Roderich." Elizabeth said, as she stepped into the car.

"Good morning, Andres. Global Studies, am I right?" He asked as he buckled himself in the car. Elizabeth was getting quite used to the fact the wheel was on the right instead of the left.

"Yup," Elizabeth nodded.

Roderich nodded back, and gave her an empty brown bag. "Your breakfast for today." It was becoming a regular routine for Elizabeth, get into Roderich's car, exchange greetings, eat the breakfast he made, and head to classes.

Elizabeth had at first refused because he needed to eat as well, but he argued that he worked at a coffee shop and he had plenty to eat over there.

The drive was also like usual, Roderich's classical music playing and Elizabeth eating the breads Roderich had made.

They were in front of the classrooms as the sun is up. Saying her formalities, she dusted her hands off, and walked out of the door.

* * *

The damn alarm clock was on again. It was always on, Gilbert didn't need one but Andres always put it on for him. He didn't understand, because he was going to wake to clean up anyway. Gilbert was in fact, a very clean person with yellow-colored things. He also like lollipops, but that was not relevant now. He just didn't clean up when he was tired or when he was busy because he has other things to do.

He knew that Andres was gone, that guy took Calculus on Saturdays. Andres also probably didn't do his bed so that's where Gilbert started at. He did Andres' bed, climbed down to do his own bed. Cleaned the floor, bathroom, and put things away. It was a steady rhythm for both roommates.

Originally, Gilbert wanted to do the dorm, the laundry, and get their food. But Andres had insisted that he would so some work – so Andres took care of the laundry and getting supplies while Gilbert cleaned. Which he preferred, he cleaned the place much better than him.

So when he went back to get his clothes by his bunk, he saw Andres' note about his classes and the fact that he AGAIN set his alarm clock for him. He really looked out for Gilbert.

It was now nine, "Shit," Gilbert muttered as he grabbed his clothes and took a quick shower. He had to work, and not only that. He had to get to his Physics class and take his dog out for a bath. He couldn't do it on his own, dogs aren't allowed on the campus and Ludwig didn't have time today.

He dried up his hair messily as he tried to stuff a slice of bread in his mouth and put on his pants at the same time. He had to look presentable for this job, Gilbert didn't know why he took it. He rushed out the door and ran to his car.

It was already 9:30 and Roderich was going to kill him. Roderich's shift was already done so he would have to keep playing until Gilbert got there.

Gilbert worked at a coffee shop, playing piano. It was kind of prissy and weird for Gilbert, but he got paid and got to hang out with Antonio.

He got there about ten, the dumb radio was distracting him a bit. He was trying to listen to music-with-piano but he ended up listening to some random music station. He parked in front of the brown shop,  _Een Kop!_ The sign read. The place was a cheesy coffee shop but without the clichéd menu. It ranged from German to Spanish, so they attracted quite a few customers. And it was close to the university, so win-win.

He walked in the door, Roderich was playing still and Antonio and Bella were working. Gilbert waited until he finished his song and checked in with Antonio.

"Hey," Antonio greeted him. "Have you had breakfast yet?"

Gilbert shook his head, "Just get me something to eat after I'm done."

He watched Roderich walk up to them, "You're finally here. Latte macchiato, please."

"Sure – what size? On the house as usual." Antonio replied.

"Small." Roderich replied, passing the music. He didn't comment about his coffee being free, anything for savings, Gilbert assumed. "What took you so long?"

"I was cleaning." Gilbert replied, taking the sheets with him. "I'll be done 11:30 'Tonio, make me the café con leche later. Large."

Gilbert yawned before settling down on the brown piano in front of him. It was old and reused and it sounded a bit off. It was also small, but Gilbert liked it. He grew quiet attached to the piano after these months.

* * *

Elizabeth was done with all her classes for today. Well, until five o'clock but she still had a few hours. She was walking outside campus, taking a walk by a park. She was by the sidewalk, her backpack on her right shoulder. She would probably get back to their dorm. Gil was probably their or somewhere.

She was taking her phone out to contact the albino but was interrupted by a dog jumping up on her. It was a black Labrador, with the ears were sticking out, the mouth opened slobbering. Elizabeth smiled, noticing the black leash on him she put her cell away and held the leash.

"Hey boy!" She petted him, scratched behind his ear, and felt his collar. "Your name is Berlitz, huh? Well, let's just find-"

"BERLITZ!" The voice was familiar. She saw the blur of white hair and she knew who it was. She arched an eyebrow, Gilbert was now hugging the black dog, petting him repeatedly. "I swear, if you run away like that… Oh god, how can I repay-" Gilbert looked up to Elizabeth's amused expression.

"Hey, Andres." Gilbert laughed, sitting down next to Berlitz. "What you doing here?"

Elizabeth kneeled down next to him, "Walking. You?"

"Trying to catch Berlitz. He's been growing crazy ever since his bath." He rubbed the top of Berlitz's head. "You little shit."

"Didn't you have Physics?"

"Dropped him off before class. Think, Andres, think!" He tapped Elizabeth's forehead. Aggravated, she hit him back.

"Oh, stop! Anyway, are you doing anything? We could get some ice-cream and walk and crap." He stood up, brushing off dust from his jeans. "Berlitz here isn't allowed in campus." He shook the dog's leash, petting him and muttering stupid insults that truly didn't mean anything.

"Sure, our classes resume around five anyway. I think there's an ice-cream stand around the park." She stood up as well, brushing off dirt from her clothes.

They both walked into the park, Gilbert holding onto Berlitz. "I didn't know you had a dog," Elizabeth commented, shifting her back on both of her shoulders.

"Yeah, Berlitz actually stays with my brother and dad at our house. Luddy was too busy to bring him over to his appointment, so I had to do it. Spoiled dog." Even with the harsh words, he was grinning at his dog.

"Hmn, where do you guys live?" Elizabeth asked, spotting the ice-cream stand. She pulled on his sleeve to show him.

He nodded. "This big cottage. I'll show you during some break or something. You're from America right?"

Elizabeth gulped. "Yeah. What flavor do you want?"

"Strawberry."

"Okay," She grabbed her wallet out, but Gilbert put a bill in her hand.

"Gil, I'm paying." She said, pushing his hand away.

"My idea, I'm paying." Pushing the bill toward her hand again.

"You just spent your money, let me pay."

"At least let me pay my ice cream!"

"Well," The ice-cream guy said, "Let your girlfriend pay if she's so willing, sir." Elizabeth smiled briefly at the man, before realizing he had called herself a 'girl'. Not only that, Gilbert's 'girlfriend'.

"Uhm, sir. We're not dating. Nor am I a girl," Elizabeth said, lowering her voice a bit. She took out her own bill. "Two strawberries."

The guy grinned back at her and nodded. Elizabeth turned to glare at Gilbert, before smiling at the man again and grabbed their ice cream. "Thank you."

Once they walked a far enough distance from the ice-cream stand, Elizabeth stomped on Gilbert's foot. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Nothing." Elizabeth grumbled, "Here." She handed him the bit bigger one.

"Thanks anyway." Gilbert grumbled back, eating his ice-cream quietly and his other hand holding Berlitz's leash in his pocket.

Elizabeth nodded, focusing more on the ice cream. It was quiet, except for the echoes of Gilbert's shoes each time he stepped. "Why are you wearing such fancy shoes?"

Gilbert's face reddened, looking away. "I sorta have to. You know those jobs that require you to wear fancy pants and such."

"You have a job?" Elizabeth asked, looking up from her ice cream.

"Yes!" Gilbert exclaimed, looking away and eating his ice cream. Elizabeth noticed how the leaves were getting darker and some were falling off. Then she saw Gilbert's hair, a bit messy. His eyebrows were pulled into a frown. His eyes were concentrating on something ahead of them, almost squinting. Elizabeth was so concentrated on Gilbert she almost dropped her ice cream.

"Are you okay?" Gilbert asked, his shoulders slouched a bit, his eyebrow arched in confusion.

Elizabeth nodded, looking the complete other way. She spotted a couple sitting on a bench. Her legs were over the others, their hands intertwined. They weren't doing anything, just talking. He rubbed his thumb over her hand.

Elizabeth wasn't a particular romantic, but she wondered if she was ever going to have a relationship like that. Gilbert nudged her arm. "Hey," he said.

"Hey," she said back.

He smiled and she smiled back.

* * *

"Did you hear about the inter-dorm competition?" Gilbert asked him later on. She was doing studying on her desk while he was sprawled on his bed, doing homework.

"Huh?" Andres asked, not really paying attention to him.

Gilbert frowned, upset with the lack of attention. He preferred anybody's attention on him. "Antonio told me earlier, the first real competition. There's going to be a band contest, singing, etc. But there's stuff like high jump and marathons. Oh, and there swimming!"

Andres shook his head at the mention of swimming, "Are you participating?"

"Eh, thinking of high-jump or the 5K."

"That's great." Andres muttered, his attention on Gilbert was gone once again.

Gilbert's frown deepened. "You should join the %K with me!"

Andres finally looked up at Gilbert, his attention undivided. "But that's work. I need have time to condition for that."

Gilbert was now sitting up, too excited to listen to Andres. "That would be great! We could train together and all. Even run together, if you can catch up anyway."

"Gilbert," Andres muttered, but Gilbert ignored her.

"Francis is joining some kind of cooking thing and Antonio is literally going to join everything. Oh, come on! It would be fun! It could be like bonding with the gang! Fantastic!" At this point Gilbert was standing up, ranting about how 'grand', 'breathtaking', 'wondrous' participating would be.

"Okay," He heard.

"Yes!" He grabbed Andres shoulders and hugged him quick. "That's wonderful!"

When they went to bed, something felt off but Gilbert just shrugged it off.

* * *

It was lunch, Andres was at Photography and Lovino was bringing him lunch. Gilbert was leading the group conversation, "So me and Andres are joining the 5K. You guys?"

Gilbert didn't miss the sparkle in Francis' eyes.

"I'm doing high jump, long jump, and the 10k." Antonio replied, chewing his food.

Gilbert rolled his eyes, he pointed his fork to Antonio. "You don't count, superhuman thing."

"Well, me and Mattie are thinking-"

"It's 'Matthew and I', Alfred."

"You didn't correct Gilbert! Anyway  _Matthew and I_ are thinking of doing the 5K as well, but we might just not. Maybe just high jump."

"Well, Lovino and I are going to be joining a cooking challenge. I think it lasts for about a week, right?"

"You talked to Lovino, Francis?"

"Yeah, during Culinary Arts this week."

"You should've told me! I wish I could watch Lovino cook, he barely cooks for me anymore!"

"What about you 'Artie'?"

"Don't call me that, frog!"

"You let Alfred call you that."

"Shut it. I'm not doing anything, too busy for such trivial matters."

* * *

"Wake up!" Elizabeth felt the warmth of her blanket leave her and the presence of a white-haired idiot.

"Gilbert!" Elizabeth immediately stood up and grabbed her blanket.

Gilbert tugged at the blanket, "Wake up! Let's go out for a jog or something!"

Elizabeth glared at him and then to the alarm clock. She almost punched him. "It is three in the morning. And I went to sleep at  _eleven."_

"Come on!" He finally let go of the blanket though.

Elizabeth turned the other way, "I'm going to sleep Gil."

"Don't leave me awake, I just had three coffees!"

Elizabeth smuggled into the warmth of her blanket. "No, Gil."

It was quiet for a few minutes, and Elizabeth was satisfied. But then she felt weight on the other side of her bed. She didn't turn to see Gilbert, she was too comfortable too. But she felt Gilbert lay down next to her.

"Hey," He said.

"Hey," She said back.

"C'mon. Entertain me."

"Like what?" Elizabeth scoffed, moving far away from Gilbert without falling off the bed.

"Like the important facts about your life."

"Like my favorite color?" Elizabeth asked, her eyes were red but wide open.

"Yes, exactly." Gilbert had lowered his usually loud voice to a softer tone.

Elizabeth resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I guess green."

"I would say silver. What's your favorite food?"

"Gulyas. You?"

"Pancakes. With syrup, but not any syrup, the syrup from Canada made with love and maple and all the good things in the world."

"Wow."

"I know. Your turn."

"Favorite subject?"

"Wow, we're really getting to know each other now aren't we? Engineering I really enjoy."

"I like my Journalism class."

"Favorite season?"

"I like fall."

"Winter. Your turn."

"Is the whole night going to be like this?"

"I guess."

"Yeah," She said.

"Yeah." He said back.

 


	6. I'll have a Martini

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This story had one-sided AusHun and PruCan, but this is really a PruHun story. I'm trying to update more often.
> 
> I'm actually playing with the idea of soulmates not falling in love with each other, they fall in love with someone else.

**Singing this Lie**

**Chapter 5: I'll have a Martini**

**Mayday Parade – Champagne's for Celebrating**

* * *

She felt someone nudged her shoulders. "Andres. Come on, I told you we were going to take a jog and see Matthew." It was Gilbert.

Elizabeth didn't move. It was probably only six in the morning. Yeah, she did promised to jog but she really didn't feel like getting up.

She heard Gilbert mutter something, but she just laid down quiet and still. Then her blankets were off, the warmth that they brought her was gone. She got up into a sitting position, her heavy eyes focusing on the person in front of her. Gilbert was smirking, holding her blankets in both hands. The light from the window was creating a silhouette. "Gil..." Elizabeth whined, not really caring if she sounded like a teenager who got their phone taken away.

"Hurry up and change already. It's six already and Matthew's thing ends around seven  _and_  youhave classes around eight."

"Okay, okay!" Elizabeth groaned, plopping herself back on the bed. "I'm up!"

Gilbert rolled his eyes and tossed Elizabeth the blankets. "Hurry up then."

Elizabeth stuck her tongue out, but grabbed her clothes and walked to the bathroom. She made sure to lock the door and began to wash her face. She glared at her hair, which was looking terrible and then glared at her face, which was looking pale. After she was done, she walked out of the bathroom. Gilbert was ready, checking his phone. It was around 6:30, so they should be able to come back so that she could take a shower. She didn't feel like going to class drenched in sweat.

"Okay, I'm ready." She said, tightening her ponytail. Gilbert nodded, opening the door so Elizabeth could go out.

"So, why are we meeting Matthew?" Elizabeth asked as they walked downstairs.

"Mattie and his brother goes to the flight school a few miles down from here," Gilbert explained. "Since we were jogging, I thought they could get us a ride back so you can take a shower before classes."

Andres nodded. They were outside now, the sun about to rise and she felt the chilly, crisp, November air. "What now?" Elizabeth had asked Gilbert.

"We jog. What else? That's what we were supposed to be doing."

Elizabeth nodded, feeling foolish, and began to jog. Gilbert started to run with her, she could hear their footsteps. They didn't talk, Elizabeth was more focused on her chest – it was beginning to hurt and she was feeling dizzy. She didn't feel how much her legs were aching or her feet hurting, she hadn't ran in a long time. But she ignored the pain.

They were running, Elizabeth didn't keep track of where they were going. She only focused on her breathing.

"We're almost there," She heard Gilbert pant next to her, smiling underneath his hoodie. She didn't know how long they were running.

Elizabeth nodded, too dizzy to respond. She was pretty sure she didn't have anything to drink, unless Gilbert put something in her water which she doubted. She knew Gilbert well enough.

She focused at the end of the road. She tried not to focus on her burning body, it was just a light jog after all. There was a few passersby, some people rushing to class or taking a jog as well. She saw a white car at the end of road, two blonds sitting on top of it. They were by the gates, drinking what she guessed was coffee.

When they were closer to them, Gilbert sped up a bit and waved his hands. "Mattie! Alfred!" Elizabeth and Gilbert jogged faster, making her body ache.

Matthew and Alfred turned around and looked at the pair, Gilbert and Elizabeth were now just stopping by the car. Elizabeth suddenly felt out of place, the three friends had known each other than Elizabeth had known any of them. She could feel the energy leaving her, making her feel doubt.

"Gilbert! Andres!" Matthew yelled, jumping off the car to greet them. Alfred followed suit, holding his coffee in one hand.

She watched them as if she were in a movie. She knew she was 'accepted' in their little group, but Elizabeth felt like she was just there and observing them. Matthew and Gilbert had pulled in for a hug, Gilbert and Alfred doing the same after. Something other than aching limbs and her dizzy head had hurt her.

But then Matthew had turned around and faced Elizabeth, snapping her out of her trance. "Hey!" And pulled her into a hug. She felt him tense a bit, but released her and smiled.

"So, anyway!" Gilbert said, "Do you mind taking us back to our dorms? Andres has looked terrible ever since we started jogging. I think she's sick." Gilbert inspected her face, she felt herself heat up.

"Wait, I think I might have medicine. Come here, Andres." Matthew said, gesturing his hand to follow her to the trunk of the car. Elizabeth followed.

Matthew was rummaging through some sort of first-aid kit. "We keep some pain-killers here. That's the most I can do, but I think you should go to the nurse." Elizabeth nodded, holding the pill case Matthew had given her.

"And, maybe loosen the binder a bit. I think it's a bit tight," Elizabeth felt herself freeze at the words. Her heartbeat was going fast, fast because of the jog, because of Gilbert, because she might be discovered. Again. She wanted to shrug it off, as if Matthew was hallucinating. But when Matthew faced her, holding a bottle of water, he winked. "I'm not going to tell anyone. But yeah, I think you should loosen it a bit. And here." He gave her the water bottle.

"How…?" She asked, her grip on the water bottle tightening.

Matthew shrugged. "Flight school does you wonders. I won't tell anyone if that's what you're scared of. Now hurry up, you  _do_ look terrible." Matthew said, pointing to the medicine.

Elizabeth nodded dumbly. As she took the medicine, she gulped down more water than necessary, trying to get over her shock. "Is it noticeable?"

"Nope!" Matthew said in return, walking back to Alfred and Gilbert. Both of them were glaring at each other, not speaking words. "Al, come on. Andres needs to take a shower." Matthew said, dragging Alfred away and giving Gilbert an apologetic look.

Elizabeth mumbled 'thanks' and climbed into the car, Gilbert right behind her. She heard Matthew and Alfred arguing about who was going to drive, ("Al, I already let you drive back. And that was already a risk." "Hey, we didn't die so I can do it again!" "I'll let you put on the music, I don't want Andres to be terrorized by your driving.") and Gilbert cursing Alfred.

Matthew had seated himself on the driver's seat. Elizabeth leaned by the window, thinking about Matthew's words. Maybe it was too tight. She glanced at the Gilbert who was having a one-sided conversation with Matthew and Alfred singing to some pop song. She glanced at the scenery, which was moving quickly. Maybe it was the car.

They were back at their dorm, already ten past seven. Alfred had left the three behind, Matthew said he was going to hang out with Gilbert.

They walked backed to the dorm, Gilbert controlling their conversation. He was telling Matthew how he ran into Andres with Berlitz the other day plus Elizabeth's side comments.

Elizabeth opened the door for them and immediately marched to the bathroom. She pulled her shirt off, seeing her chest was a bit swollen. She groaned mentally and took a shower. With her binder off, she felt more relieved. The warm water calmed her nerves down.

She wiped herself down soon after, she still had Global Studies to go to. She carefully put the binder back on, trying not to make it as tight as she did. After she dressed, she did a hasty ponytail and walked out.

She smelled pancakes. Gilbert was cleaning up the dorm (like he always did, he actually was a clean-freak despite Elizabeth's impression when she first met her) and Matthew was cooking pancakes.

"Andres!" Matthew looked up from his pan. "I know your class is at eight thirty, but just grab some pancakes on your way! I feel bad that you won't be able to eat breakfast."

Elizabeth nodded, grabbing her bag and heading over to Matthew. "You have to try them!" Gilbert exclaimed, his towel flying out of his hand. "If Matt's pancakes were people I would make love to them!"

Elizabeth saw Matthew roll his eyes. "Whatever, Gil. Hurry you need to drop Andres off, I'll be here."

Gilbert nodded and grabbed her hand. "Come on, I still need to drop you off."

They ran down the stairs, Gilbert still holding her wrist. She sat down on the familiar car, the familiar seat. Gilbert turning on the car. It was a daily routine the two had, they had both had each other's mental schedules memorized.

Elizabeth took one bite of her pancakes, Gilbert watching her closely. And she felt like she went to the moon and back. "Damn, Matthew knows how to cook." She said, eating as much as she could before her class.

"Hah! I know right!" She heard Gilbert say, looking satisfied at her expression. "Okay, here you are! See you later, the dorm will be sparkling!"

Elizabeth nodded and waved. Time for class.

* * *

"I'm back, Mattie!" Gilbert said, opening his dorm door and tossing his car keys away. He heard Matthew's hum of acknowledgement and smell of pancakes. "Andres like the pancakes you made, like everyone does."

Matthew nodded, "Here's your plate. I already finished eating. Mind if I sleep here? Al is going to be with Arthur around now."

Gilbert took a bite, sighing at the impressive taste. "Sure. I have classes around twelve, I'm pretty sure you're going to crash. Don't you and your brother like sleep most of Sunday or something?"

Matthew grabbed a sleeping bag from one of the shelves.

"Yeah, well after work." Matthew arched an eyebrow. "Are you sure it's okay for both of us to skip out in work?"

"Hey," Gilbert said, placing his dish on the sink. "I called in Antonio and Francis already. I'm sure they won't mind."

Matthew nodded. "Just get out of here already."

"Hey… This is my dorm, you just can't go kicking me out of my own dorm." Gilbert said. "What if I want to take a nap?"

"Then go take a nap in your car." Matthew said, grabbing Gilbert's arm and shoving him out. "It's either me crashing here or sleeping in the hallway."

"Alright, alright. I'm going."

Gilbert grabbed his bag. "Why are you so keen on me leaving, anyway?" He said, looking at Matthew who was now sitting on the blue sleeping bag.

"Eh. Did you know you and Andres are very similar?"

Gilbert furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What?"

Matthew shook his head. "Just get out Gil."

Gilbert looked at his friend, Gilbert had hoped he knew how to read Matthew's emotions (after all, he had dated the guy in high school) but all he could sense was that Matthew was calm.

He shrugged and walked out.

* * *

Elizabeth had been sleeping less the next week, running with Gilbert and conditioning with Antonio (and Lovino – but Lovino just sat there eating).

She had also followed what Matthew had said, she loosened her binder a bit. She no longer had headaches and all, it was complacent.

Gilbert would wake Elizabeth up in the most extravagant ways, as he put it. Sat down on her, poured water on her, poured food on her.

Today, she knew it wouldn't be any different. After all, today was the start of inter-dorm competition. Classes were suspended by two days but the competition lasted five days.

But she felt different, more refreshed. When she cracked her eyes open, she saw Gilbert's silhouette blocking the curtains. The light from the window gave him a dark shadow over him.

"Andres! An-dres!" Gilbert yelled, shaking her blanket off of her. "Wake up! Wake up!"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "Gil, you sound like a little kid on Christmas." She muttered, pulling the blankets closer to her. "Besides, it doesn't start until like ten.  _And_ the 5K is  _tomorrow."_

"Yeah, but we need to witness Lovino and Francis'. Remember!?"

Elizabeth scowled, "That's around eleven. What time is it now?"

"Nine."

Hmn. That's why she felt different.

"Okay, I'm up." She said, yawning and stretching her arms. "I'll take a shower first, seeing as you didn't." She said, eyeing Gilbert's yellow pajama pants. Shrugging, she climbed down, Gilbert following her, and headed to the bathroom.

She stripped, inhaling. She loved her bind, it was strong, reliable, and comfortable. She had learned to live with it. But Elizabeth loved the moments without her bind.

Elizabeth stepped in the shower, feeling relieved that the events were already here. It was sort of a break from classes and Gilbert was happy. Allies and Axis schools could also visit each other during these kinds of events.

She turned the water off, the drops ceasing and it was silent in the dorm again. Elizabeth dressed and looked in the mirror.

She looked like a boy. That was good. Tugging her shirt down, she walked out with steam following her.

"Okay, your turn." Elizabeth said. Time to start the day.

* * *

"The winning plate goes to Sadik Adnan of Dorm Valens!" Gilbert's father had announced, earning mixed reactions from the people surrounding Elizabeth.

Gilbert had jumped and screamed a big 'whoop!' and blew kisses with both of his hands to Francis and Lovino who were both glaring at him respectively. Roderich, next to her, was clapping – looking disappointed. Matthew behind her was clapping, trying to calm down Gilbert. With the people in front of her, the sun blinding her, she felt trapped. She was restless, tapping her foot. As much as she loved her friends, she wanted to get out there. She felt uncomfortable surrounded.

Someone tapped her shoulder. Gilbert. "C'mon. We gotta go see Francis and Lovino so we can see the rest of campus."

Elizabeth nodded, finding out that Matthew had walked ahead of them and Roderich was waiting for them. Elizabeth smiling at Roderich, relieved they were leaving the crowded spot.

"Andres, would you like to accompany me to the theatre? My friend – well, not really friend – asked me to come."

Elizabeth nodded. She was sick of the sun despite the chilly air. Gilbert had glared at Roderich, but waved them goodbye.

"So, who's your friend?" Elizabeth asked as she and Roderich walked.

"Vash Zwingli. His sister came over today and she wants me hear her play, Vash doesn't really want me there but whatever to make his sister happy."

Elizabeth nodded, "Sounds like you know them well."

"I do."

She didn't press on the subject. As they both drifted away from the crowd, Elizabeth saw that she could breathe better. "And I think I know you well too." Roderich had said. "You seemed very tense back there."

Elizabeth looked at Roderich, his smile and voice. He sounded and looked like a musical masterpiece. Just being in his presence made Elizabeth feel as if she was sitting at an orchestra. "I was tense there," Elizabeth admitted, satisfied that she did.

"Yes. I thought this would make you feel comfortable." He replied. Elizabeth always felt comfortable around Roderich though. She felt like she could be around him and not be judged.

With Roderich felt like home

And then Elizabeth thought of Gilbert. Gilbert was that person who she could fight over the television remote and shout across hallways. But Gilbert was also someone she could lay down and talk about dumb things like stars. Gilbert was someone she could feel like she was on top of the world.

With Gilbert it felt like she took a step out of her home for the first time.

"Thank you." Elizabeth smiled.

Roderich nodded. They had walked in silence afterwards, Roderich humming a song. It soothed her down, she felt like going to bed.

They had reached the auditorium, Roderich had opened the door for her. It was empty, it looked newly cleaned. "I'll be playing later, I do hope you come." Roderich said as they ascended down. There was a piano there, but no one was there. Elizabeth had to adjust her eyes to the dim lights.

"Brother, I think Roderich is here!" Someone said. Elizabeth saw two figures sitting at the front row. One getting up and shaking the person next to them, the other person crossing his legs and his face rested on the palm of his hand.

"Okay," The person with crossed legs stood up. "Roderich." Elizabeth only seen the man briefly at campus. His hair was cropped short as if he had no time to waste and cut it on his own. He was wearing a loose shirt that didn't seem to come from a person of wealth.

"Vash." Roderich replied. This time, a person walked behind Vash. She had the same haircut with a bow on the side. She had a green jacket draped on her shoulders that was too big for her that made Elizabeth wonder if it was Vash's.

"Who's this?" Vash asked, nodding at Elizabeth in acknowledgement.

"This is Andres. Andres, this is Vash and Lili Zwingli." Roderich said, still glaring at Vash. She sensed tension, but Lili walked up to her. Lili stared at her intensely, then shrugged inconspicuously.

"Brother, I like Andres." Lili declared, "Now, can Roderich listen to me? I know you want to rest."

Vash nodded instantly. Sister complex, Elizabeth thought.

Roderich smiled and followed the girl. Elizabeth saw Vash sitting down and she sat as well. Soon, Lili was playing. The sounds Lili were playing were pacifying to Elizabeth's ears. Roderich looked at home with the instrument in front of him. Elizabeth noticed that always looked so lost, but by a piano, Roderich looked in control.

She didn't know how long she was there, but when Roderich and Lili stopped at they all said their farewells, it was already three.

The four of them stood outside, not quite sure what to do. Lili then grabbed her sleeve. "Andres, can I tell you something?"

Elizabeth nodded, she crouched down to find out what the little girl wants to say to her.

"You're a pretty girl."

Elizabeth blinked. Three people? "I think you have gotten that wrong…" She began, but Lili had walked away with Vash already.

She sighed, just hoping for the best. She saw Roderich waiting for her. She shook it off and took her phone out as she and Roderich walked mindlessly.

_[Three messages from GILBERT BEILSCHMIDT]_

She arched her eyebrow.

_Where are you? [1:45 PM]_

_Andress… [2:12 PM]_

_I got tired so im at the dorm. [2:45 PM]_

Wow. Gilbert Beilshmidt was impatient. She texted him back immediately.

_Sorry. I'll be there soon. [3:21 PM]_

"Roderich, could we go back to my dorm? Of course, if you don't have anything to do." Elizabeth asked.

Roderich shook his head. "Sure."

Elizabeth thought about Lili, and then compliments. It was scary, distressing that Lili knew and Elizabeth wanted to run after her but that would make things more suspicious.

Of course, Elizabeth didn't receive compliments as 'Elizabeth' so she thought maybe it was okay.

* * *

Gilbert thought Andres was kidnapped. He told himself if he didn't reply at four, Gilbert was going to search for him himself.

He told Francis and Antonio this, but they simply said that maybe his battery was low, no signal, and other excuses. They didn't care for Andres as much as he did.

So when the door opened, her jumped out of his bed to fast he hit his head.

"What was that?" Roderich. Ugh.

"Oh my god, Gilbert! Gil, are you okay?" Andres. Andres.

"Gil, okay get up and open your eyes." Andres.

Gilbert did as Andres said. He had hit his head, his eyes found Andres in front of him worried, Roderich behind him.

"I'm okay." Gilbert groaned, falling on his back on his bed. He heard Andres sigh in relief.

"Well, good night Roderich." He heard Andres said.

"Night!" Gilbert yelled, raising his hand in goodbye.

"Good night to both of you." The door shut.

He felt Andres next to him. Gilbert felt himself slowly relax at Andres' voice. His muscles loosened and his head hurt considerably less. "I'm fine." Gilbert whispered. He propped his arm up, trying to push himself up.

He was now eye level with Andres, whose green eyes were familiar. Her forehead was tensed up in a frown, he was almost pouting. Adorable.

"Are you really?" Andres replied back, sitting crossed-legged on his bed.

Gilbert turned around and faced him. "Yeah, calm down I just bumped my head."

Andres was silent for a few moments, but nodded. "I'm going to take a rest. We run tommorow."

Gilbert nodded as Andres sat up and walked to the bathroom. He felt like sleeping anyway. Gilbert changed into a pair of comfortable sweatpants and a shirt.

In about five minutes Andres had reappeared and sat at his desk. Gilbert didn't disturb him, he knew that. Gilbert closed her eyes, trying to revisit his home in the suburbs with his brother. The breeze was lovely. He saw his mom and dad, smiling. The sky blue, it felt alright.

But then he saw Andres. Andres' smile, laughter. Gilbert's heart stopped, Andres looked so happy.

Gilbert opened his eyes. He must have fallen asleep, the sky was darker and the only light in the dorm was coming from Andres' desk.

Rubbing his eyes, Gilbert grabbed a sheet and walked over to Andres. Andres' hair looked as if he ran through it with his fingers too many times. Gilbert smiled a bit, and draped the blanket over him.

* * *

Elizabeth felt like she was going to die. She could hear her pants. She probably looked like death. Her hair plastered all over her despite her ponytail. She tried to ignore the pain – you couldn't ignore pain no matter how hard you tried – she tried to embrace the pain.

The pain with each pound of her foot hurt her. She wanted to lie down and never get up again.

They were almost there. Elizabeth tried to control her breathing. Gilbert was next to her, determinedly looking at the finish line. She didn't know how far or beyond they were. What place they were. All she knew was that they were almost done.

Ten meters away from the finish line. Gilbert grabbed her arm and pushed her forward. They had crossed the finish line.

She didn't know what had happened, she just fell down on the grass. The cool grass soothing her, the lack of motion steadied her breathing a bit,

Elizabeth felt someone next to her. It was Gilbert. "Here." He gave her a water bottle. She gladly took it and drank half of it in one go. "Thanks."

Gilbert nodded his head, drinking from his second water bottle. "Antonio will be racing in an hour, do you want to take a shower or…?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Yeah, let's head back."

"Can you even stand?"

"Let's go in a few minutes."

She laid her head back, staring at the sky. It was actually a nice day, it was just running was hard. "So, who was first?"

"We were second, I don't know who was first." Gilbert replied.

"So, what were we doing later?" She asked, finishing her water.

"Resting in our dorm and never coming back out."

* * *

"Third place is… the Sapien Dorm!" She heard a groan from Arthur and a chuckle from Francis. Those two were out. They all were sitting in the back, the darkest part of the auditorium.

Elizabeth was sitting next to Gilbert and Roderich, waiting for the results of the inter-dorm competition three days later.

"Who do you think is going to win?" Roderich had asked her, his legs crossed.

"I'm pretty sure our dorm is second place, so your dorm." She responded back.

Gilbert poked her shoulder. "Pay attention to me, damn it."

"Of course," Elizabeth turned to face Gilbert, her eyes brows rising. "What?"

"Nothing, I just want you talking to me and not Roderich."

Elizabeth sighed, she didn't understand Gilbert. Or why she put up with him. But the announcement for second place was about to begin. Elizabeth shoved Gilbert playfully and focused on the stage.

"Second place is the Valens Dorm!" She heard Gilbert groans of agony, but turned to Roderich and smiled. "See, I told you!"

She felt herself invading Roderich's personal space, but Roderich didn't seem to mind. But then she thought of Gilbert and snapped herself back to reality.

"We're second place." She said. Gilbert had gotten over his shock, and was now sitting back in his chair his arms crossed.

"Hey, it's okay." She said, she could almost see Gilbert pouting.

"Well, Roderich and Francis must be happy."

She hummed.

"First place is Dorm Animus!" She saw Roderich smile larger than usual, clapping harder than usual. She had the sudden urge to smile with him, but staying with Gilbert was more important. She could hear Lovino laughing, patting Roderich's shoulder.

Gilbert looked as if he wanted to glare at Roderich, but shrugged. "It doesn't really matter."

Elizabeth nodded.

"Let's go," Francis had said, making Gilbert jump a bit. Elizabeth and Gilbert looked at each other and they were about to get out from her seat when Antonio piped up.

"Wait!" He said, grabbing Lovino's hand as he jumped up. "Let's go clubbing! To The Foutain!"

"Huh?" Alfred asked. Elizabeth looked at Roderich who sighed, and to Gilbert who arched an eyebrow.

"Eh, why not?" Matthew asked. "Let's go."

Gilbert suddenly grabbed her arm, and looked at Roderich. "Roddy, you coming?" Elizabeth also glanced at Roderich. He looked as if he was trying to be separated from them. But nodded. "Why not." He had said and stood by her other side.

They walked out of the dark theatre with a bunch of other people. Elizabeth felt safe. She turned to Gilbert, who was now grinning. Roderich was smiling.

She was feeling bliss. The bitter air had greeted them. Everyone was talking but Elizabeth couldn't process what they were saying. She tightened the jacket around her, she couldn't believe it was already November. It was only about four months ago she enrolled in the school.

She could see Antonio and Francis leading them to the club they were going to. Gilbert was still next to her, Roderich too. She saw Matthew smile at her, and she smiled back. Life was good.

They walked for who-knows-how long. Elizabeth didn't question why they didn't use a car. But she was laughing along, making crude jokes. Roderich began to hum later, and she began to sing to whatever song he was humming. She elbowed Gilbert to sing with her.

Antonio had opened the door for them. Elizabeth had never gone into a club before. She was warmed up instantly by the warmer atmosphere, she could feel the heat on her cheeks.

Lights flashing, she could see Antonio pulling Lovino away to the dance floor. Lovino was smiling, allowing himself to be dragged away.

"I'll just get some drinks," Matthew had said. She nodded. She was still unsure what to do.

"I think I will join you Matthew." Roderich had left her side. Elizabeth thought she should have felt empty, but she didn't. Gilbert was still next to her.

She turned to face the taller man, the lights were flashing, she couldn't see much. Gilbert wasn't really paying attention, his feet were tapping along to the beat of the music.

She heard Arthur screaming about not getting drunk, Alfred and Francis' reassurances that 'of course he wasn't'.

Gilbert turned to her, as if he knew that she was watching him. Their eyes were locked, both didn't utter a word. Elizabeth didn't know how long they had stood there, their eyes on each other. She couldn't feel her legs, her arms. She couldn't feel. She was locked in Gilbert's gaze. She loved his eyes. Gilbert was really great.

Gilbert smiled and asked, "Is this your first time at a club, stranger?"

"Yes." Oh, not the flirting again.

"Well," His regular smirk was on his face. "Welcome, my friend."

 


End file.
